After The Sacrifice
by KimberlieR
Summary: It's been 4 years since the shooting and life's gone on for Rose and the gang. With an upcoming wedding and babies on the way, they certainly have plenty to celebrate. But Tasha's appeal is just around the corner, and she has no intentions of going away quietly. Will Rose and her family ever really be safe?
1. Chapter 1

**RPOV**

_I looked around at the familiar scene unfolding in front of me: The bright lights of the grand ballroom, the sound of cries and chaos while people scampered about. _

_The already crowded room was suffocating in panic, but all I could see was Lissa. _

_She was standing there in the center of the storm, arms outstretched towards Tasha. _

_She cried out to her over the crowd, the gun still shaky in Tasha's unsteady hands._

_My eyes darted between the two women as I saw Tasha register the sound, and when Lissa took that one small step, I knew exactly what would happen next. _

_In a flash Tasha swiveled in her direction pulling the trigger with abandon. _

_The sound of gunshots echoed throughout the great hall, but I could barely hear it. _

_All I could feel was the searing pain that ripped through my chest. And then my eyes flew open._

* * *

><p>"Roza…wake up Milaya." Dimitri murmured gently in my ear.<p>

I could feel the beads of sweat that trickled down my face, and my shirt clung tightly to my now damp body.

Once again I found myself in familiar surroundings, yet I still couldn't control the sobs that were wreaking havoc on my body.

Dimitri did his best to console me; both arms wrapped tightly around my chest. He didn't bother to ask me what was wrong, he already knew.

Instead he continued to gently stroke my hair while speaking softly in Russian and waiting for my sobs to subside. Most of what he said was lost in translation, but I still felt comforted all the same.

When I finally regained my composure I spoke.

"You'd think as often as this happens I could recognize the dream by now…. but each time it feels so real..."

I hated that this kept happening. Not because I couldn't handle the dreams, but because I knew what it did to Dimitri to see me like this.

"Roza for you it is real." Dimitri reasoned. "It's a memory."

It had been four years since that night.

Four years since we'd learned who really killed Queen Tatiana, and four years since Tasha had shot me.

In the months that followed, I'd had this dream nearly every night, but as the time passed it happened less and less. I knew the only reason it was happening now was because of the trial.

The Council had been busy spending the last several weeks planning for Tasha's appeal. Her first trial had happened quickly, her guilty verdict unanimous. But her counsel had been poor and she'd fought hard for an appeal. Most didn't feel she deserved it, but Lissa had granted her wish anyway. She was nothing if not a just ruler, and we all knew it was more for Christian's sake than anything.

Tasha was Christians only living relative, the aunt who practically raised him when his own parents turned Strigoi.

"You know as much as I'm dreading this second trial, I wish we could just get the damn thing over with already."

"I know my Milaya, so do I." Dimitri whispered back as him arms tightened around me.

I couldn't help the over whelming guilt I felt admitting that out loud.

I knew all too well the fate Tasha faced if found guilty. I had faced the same fate when she'd framed me for murder. But despite all of that and the atrocity of her crimes, somehow I still felt that execution was too extreme.

You know what they say, an eye for an eye just makes the whole world blind.

"Has Christian mentioned the trial lately?" I asked after a few moments of silence. Dimitri let out a heavy sigh beneath me and even in the darkness I could imagine the pained expression he wore on his face.

Christian was Dimitris charge and one of his closest friends, but he too knew the pain Tasha had caused us and it made him reluctant to talk about her.

"You know him; he doesn't like to say much. He did ask however if I minded taking him to see Tasha before the trial."

In the past four years they had only been to visit Tasha twice. Both times Dimitri refused to actually speak to her, choosing instead to watch his charge from the opposite side of the glass.

My mind began to wander with the possible reasons for their visit. Last I'd heard he hadn't changed his position on supporting her…despite her best efforts otherwise.

"If I had to guess, he probably just wants to share his and Lissa's good news." Dimitri offered as if he'd somehow been reading my mind.

Thinking about their good news brought a small smile to my face.

It had only been 3 weeks ago that we'd learned the news of Lissa's pregnancy. Adrian and Sydney were expecting late November, and with a little research and the help of spirit, Lissa had somehow made the impossible possible for Dimitri and I as well.

The idea that we would all be belly buddies had us squealing nonstop.

As if once again reading my mind, Dimitri's large hands snaked down from my shoulders coming to rest on the small bump that had formed on my once flat stomach. His breathing had slowed to a deep heavy rhythm, and as the comfort of his embrace washed over me, I mercifully fell back into a quiet and dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

It seemed as though Roza's nightmares were becoming a regular thing.

I knew it was on account of Tasha's upcoming appeal and for once I found myself curing the Queen's extreme generosity.

As the offensive alarm beside me began to blare, I quickly reached over to silence it, praying it hadn't woken up Rose. She'd never been a morning person, and now with the nightmares and the pregnancy, well let's just say more than one alarm clock had met its maker against our bedroom wall.

Not wanting to wake her any sooner than necessary I slipped carefully out of bed to start the coffee before my morning shower.

I had just begun to rinse the shampoo out of my hair when I felt two small hands slide up my chest from behind.

"Morning Comrade" she purred seductively, her lips pressed gently against my back. I smiled to myself before turning to face the beautiful woman in front of me.

"I'm sorry, did the shower wake you?" I asked as I quickly brushed her lips against mine.

"Nope, the smell of coffee did. The shower just gave me the incentive to get out of bed and join you."

She gave me her best "man-eater" smile before placing both arms securely around my neck, pulling me down for another kiss. This one she held longer and I let it build into something headier as my hands roamed freely over her bare skin.

"Roza" I hesitated not really wanting to break the kiss. "You're going to make us late" I murmured against her lips.

But she didn't relent in her quest and as usual I couldn't refuse her.

Even after five years together I still regarded her as the sexiest creature to walk on two legs, and looking at her now I was confident I would always see her that way.

Thirty minutes later we were reluctantly drying off when I heard the sound of a key in our lock. I knew it would be Lissa or Christian, further confirming my suspicions about running behind.

We had barely emerged from the bedroom when Lissa came bounding over to us.

"OMG Rose can you believe it! In less than 48 hours you'll officially be married!"

She grabbed Rose in what she affectionately called the "Lissa death grip" before dragging her across the living room and over to our small kitchen table.

The look Rose shot me implied it was simply too early to be this excited, but as she eyed the box of Krispy Kreme's before her, I saw a significant change in her mood.

Rose hadn't even managed her first bite before Lissa started in on all the last minute wedding details.

As the conversation veered into place settings and seating charts I drifted towards the kitchen to join Christian.

"Did you hear that Belikov, your windows closing fast. Only 48 hours left to make a run for it."

"Not a chance" I replied and watched in amusement as Christian sank back under the scrutiny of Rose's death glare. I was just about to join Christian at the table when Rose eyed my coffee mug sheepishly. As I handed over the mug I saw Lissa's eyes grow wide.

"Rose, please tell me that is a decaf coffee you are drinking!"

"Liss, there is a time and a place for decaf coffee, and it's never and in the trash." Rose winked before taking a long sip of her beverage.

"Rose!" she chastised again. "You're not supposed to drink caffeine when you're pregnant."

"Oh would you relax already. One cup isn't going to kill me. Even the doctor said so. Besides after last night, I deserve this."

In her irritation she'd let the words fly out without thinking, and for the first time since Lissa arrived she really stopped to get a good look at her.

Rose moved quickly to put her guardian mask in place but it was too late.

Lissa's tone shifted from scolding to sympathetic as she placed one hand gingerly over Rose's.

"More nightmares?" she asked softly, probably hoping to spare Christian any further guilt.

No one blamed him for Tasha's actions, least of all Rose, but he carried a sense of guilt with him anyway. Sure he and Rose liked to antagonize one another, but you'd have to be blind not to see the love underneath. She was every bit as much his family as Tasha was, and I knew he felt responsible for the pain Rose was in.

I shot him a sympathetic look as he joined us at the table.

A heavy silence hung in the air and I found myself surprisingly grateful to see Adrian Ivashkov barge through my front door. Sydney trailed in behind him with one hand placed gently over her growing belly. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of that soon being Rose.

Right now her bump was small, unnoticeable to most, and part of the reason she'd insisted the wedding happen right away. She was adamant that this not look like a shot gun wedding, and no way did she plan to waddle down the aisle. Personally I thought she'd never looked more beautiful, but I wasn't foolish enough to argue.

"Hey Little Dhamphir, Cradle Robber" Adrian called as he set some luggage down by the front door.

"You do realize the flight isn't for another 9 hours right?" I asked as I pulled out a chair for Sydney at the table.

"Yeah I know, but the girls said they had wedding stuff to talk about and who knows how long that might take. Add in my two meetings before we leave court, and I figured we'd better come prepared." I would have been impressed by the responsibility of that statement if Sydney hadn't snorted into her own coffee.

"Actually I was the one who insisted we come prepared. Adrian fought me kicking and screaming all the way."

"Yeah yeah, my wife's the responsible one; tell them something they don't know dear." Adrian teased affectionately before closing the door behind him.

Even after three years of marriage they were still an odd sight to see. Adrian was careless and carefree, while Sydney had remained studious and well organized. I suppose that's part of what made them work so well, they balanced one another out.

It was the sound of Christian's phone that brought me back to the present.

"Go for Christian" he answered and we all rolled our eyes. "Oh, hey Mikhail" he responded as his expression dropped slightly.

He listened intently for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Yeah okay, thanks for calling." He said before hanging up.

"Congratulations Sparky, your greeting is even more obnoxious than your ring tone" Rose teased once he'd hung up the phone.

Unfortunately she didn't get much of a reaction.

"Is everything alright?" I asked eyeing him curiously.

"Yeah, I just need to take care of that errand we talked about." He said running a hand nervously through his hair. I immediately knew which errand he was thinking of, but apparently Lissa didn't.

"What errand?" she asked before he shot a meaningful look towards Rose.

Understanding lit her features as she quickly returned to the conversation Rose was involved in.

"Forgetting something Comrade? Rose asked as she saw me reaching for my duster.

Leaning down I pressed a soft kiss against her waiting lips and she gave me a loving smile before returning her attention to the girls.

I hadn't known when Christian planned to visit Tasha; the trial was still two weeks away. But as I watched Rose laughing easily with her friends I was suddenly glad we'd be doing this today.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Christian asked, once we were settled in the car.

"Let's just get this over with…" I told him honestly.

Sure the idea of seeing Tasha was torture, but at least it'd be over quick. I could leave for St. Vladimir's tonight without the thought looming over me, and simply enjoy getting married to the woman I love.


	2. Chapter 2

**DPOV**

The ride to the court prison was a quiet one.

I knew Christian hated asking me to come here, but with Tasha's trial two weeks away, I couldn't begrudge him an opportunity to see her. If the trial went as expected, they wouldn't have much time left.

He had been adamant since the shooting that he could accept whatever punishment she received, but I knew deep down he was struggling with the idea of her execution.

Most days I struggled with it too.

But then I would have a moment like last night where Rose woke up screaming, relieving the pain of that day, and I couldn't help the resentment that bubbled up inside me.

Rose was great at putting on a brave face; it was one of the things I loved most about her. She had this fierce ability to overcome everything life threw at her. But she wasn't invincible, and in those rare moments that she broke down, it killed me to see her defeated.

When we arrived at the court prison, we were greeted as usual.

I could feel the unease rolling off Christian in waves and did my best to offer up a smile of support before he entered the small room. I took up my usual post on the opposite side of the glass, allowing me to observe without being observed.

It was no secret Tasha's infatuation with me hadn't' faded, and although her requests came less often now, she still begged for me to visit.

No sooner than Christian had sat down did the bring Tasha into the small holding room where they handcuffed her to the table.

Christian shifted uncomfortably in his chair like he wasn't quite sure what to say.

He'd revealed nothing on the drive over about his reasons for the visit, and as the minutes ticked by I found myself growing increasingly curious.

When the silence became too much he finally spoke.

"I have some news" he stated, and Tasha's ice blue eyes lit up.

"Is it about my trial? Have you and Lissa finally agreed to speak on my behalf?"

I couldn't imagine that they had, but I leaned in closer to hear what he would say.

"Lissa's pregnant" was his only response, and for a moment she didn't seem to know what to say.

"Congratulation's…." She said warily as if waiting for something more; perhaps something that pertained to her.

When he said nothing else she finally spoke.

"Was that all you came to say?"

Christian bit his lip in hesitation before he answered

"No."

Her eyes became hopeful once more but the look on his face suggested she wouldn't like what she was about to hear.

Finally he looked up to meet her squarely in the eye.

"Lissa is pregnant and all this stress isn't good for her or the baby. Relieving that day, the day you almost killed Rose, well I just don't think it's a god idea. I've spoken to her about this and we both agree it's better if we aren't there. The court has all our previous testimonies and the verdict will be handed down by a jury, so I really don't see the point in us being there" he concluded looking back down at the table.

"Don't see the point?" She asked in shock. "The point is you show up and support your family! If you aren't there people will think…"

"That you deserve to be found guilty? That's because you do!" he cut her off.

The words seemed to have stunned her into a momentary silence and he took advantage.

"What you did was wrong Aunt Tasha. You killed a woman, almost two women, and you threatened a third!" he yelled, reminding her of Mia.

"And please, spare me the speech again about how you did it all for the cause, to save the Dhamphir and Moroi from an unjust future, because the truth is the only person you were thinking of was yourself! Did you even once think about what it would do to me to lose you after losing my parents? What it would do to Lissa to loose Rose, or how about Adrian. Tatianna loved him more than his own mother and now she's gone too. Not to mention Dimitri who loves Rose more than his own life. It nearly killed him when she got shot!"

His sudden outburst left his exhausted and he sank back into his chair.

"Dimka would have been fine in time. I could have made him happy, if he would have only let me." She said impassively, her face so cold.

Looking at her now, I could barely recognize the woman before me.

"That's it?" Christian asked outraged once more. "That's your only regret? That Dimitri never gave you a shot?! God is it any wonder no one will stand up for you! Hell, I don't even know who you are anymore!"

His words were still angry but I could hear the pain behind them.

"I'm your family Christian and family looks out for one another" she tried to reason.

But the look on Christian's face made it clear he wouldn't be convinced.

"You're right Aunt Tasha, which is why we won't be there. Lissa and our baby, they are my family now and it's time I start looking out for them."

Tasha looked at him resigned before she spoke once more.

"Fine Christian I understand. But if you won't stand up for me at the trial will you at least ask Rose to come see me. I need to speak to her."

Our reactions seemed to be completely in sync because at the same time as my fist hit the glass, Christian shot up from his chair.

"Are you insane? I'm not asking Rose to do that. I don't want her anywhere near you!" he shouted.

But his words were lost on her.

Her gaze was now fixed squarely on the glass and she knew exactly who was on the other side.

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or it's Characters. Richelle Mead does : ) I just like to dream about them. <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**DPOV**

It didn't take Tasha long before she began pleading to me from the other side.

"Dimka, please, I know you're there. I just want to talk to you. Just let me explain." She begged.

_Seriously, she wanted to explain? _

"Aunt Tasha stop this!" Christian interrupted her. "He doesn't want to see you; he doesn't care what you have to say."

He started to get up from the table, realizing there was nothing more to say here, when she turned and called back to the glass.

"Dimka, if you let me explain, I promise I won't ask to see Rose ever again."

Damn it. She knew that was the only thing she could say to convince me to change my mind.

I hated the idea of being in the same room as that woman, but not nearly as much as I hated the idea of it being Rose.

I could feel my anger bubbling to the surface.

If Rose knew Tasha wanted to see her, she would come. It was in her curious nature.

She would could and I couldn't allow that no matter how secure this prison may seem.

After what Tasha had done to her, and now with the pregnancy… it simply wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

"I want to see Rose Dimka, but I need to see you more. I promise if you let me explain I won't ask again."

She finished looking rather smug. She knew she had me and it wouldn't be long now.

Christian must have known it too because he gave a sympathetic look towards the glass before leaving the room.

A minute later I had taken his place in my own private version of hell.

Looking at Tasha now felt surreal. There was a time when I had considered her one of my closest friends, and now she was simply a monster.

Her long black silk hair had been cropped short around her chin, and her already pale skin was dulled by her fatigue. Her eyes were still that same ice blue, but where they once held some warmth for me, they now just seemed cold.

"Dimka" she smiled at me. "You don't know how much I've missed you."

She attempted to reach out towards my hand but the thankfully the cuffs made that impossible.

I stared back at her blankly, making sure to keep my composure in place.

Part of me wanted to reach across the table and strangle her for all the pain she had caused, but somehow I felt any reaction she got out of me would only add to her satisfaction.

Sensing I wouldn't give anything she up she asked,

"How is Rose?"

A low growl escaped my lips before I could stop it and she couldn't help but smile at her small victory.

"Ah yes, I knew that would do it. You are so good at controlling your emotions Dimka, except when it comes to Rose. After the incident in Spokane, I knew that's why you refused my offer."

She sighed deeply at the memory.

"What do you want Tasha?" I asked, my irritation finally getting the best of me.

Her face softened from smugness to what could have passed as sincerity if I didn't know any better.

"Just to see you Dimka, I've missed you. Tell me about your life. Are you happy?"

"No" was my only response and she considered that for a moment.

"No you won't tell me about your life, or no you aren't happy." She asked.

"No I'm not happy" I answered, baiting her towards what I wanted her to say.

"Why not?" she asked with a smile, probably hoping I would say because of Rose.

Instead I answered honestly.

"Well for starters, I'm sitting here with you."

"Dimka don't be cruel" she whined.

"I'm being cruel?" I asked.

_Well that's rich._

"Cruel is finding out one of your oldest friends is a sociopath. Cruel is murdering someone in cold blood and setting up someone else to take the blame. Cruel is destroying the only family Christian had left."

"Dimka please, try to understand" she pleaded. "Everything I did was so that we could be together. You don't realize it right now but Rose isn't the one for you. She'll never be able to give you the family that I can, and if you don't figure that out soon it's going to be too late!" She begged.

"You really don't get Tasha. I love Rose, more than my own life. Even as a soulless Strigoi I couldn't bear to be apart from her. I spent days at her bedside after you shot her, certain that if she died, I'd die too. And at night when she wakes up screaming from the nightmares, all I can think about is how much I hate you. Why do you think I never came to visit; because I can barely stand to look at you! And I don't care what happens at your trial next week; one thing will remain the same. The day you pulled that trigger, you became dead to me, and as long as I live I will never forgive you."

And with that I left her sobbing all alone in that empty room.

* * *

><p><strong>Read and Review Please : )<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**RPOV**

When Lissa said she had an idea to cheer me up, I should have known it would involve food.

Her and Sydney had shown up this morning to finalize last minute wedding details, and my sleep deprived face had betrayed me.

I had long since perfected my guardian mask but that did little to hide the massive bags under my eyes.

Her first response had been to cry because well, it's Lissa and the hormones weren't helping any. But she soon moved into fix it mode and the next thing I knew we were standing at the food court of the only mall in Pennsylvania that sold Funnel Cakes.

Sure we'd had to hop on a small plane to get here but the funnel cake…was totally worth it.

Sydney as it turned out was an even bigger freak than we were because she'd never even had a funnel cake, despite being raised in the human world.

"Seriously Sydney, how have you never had a funnel cake? It's unnatural!" I teased. "I mean I'm an evil creature of the night, and even I've had one!"

"Come on Rose, with the way you eat, I dare you to find something you haven't tried?" she teased back.

"Oh challenge accepted Sage!" I declared as I started racking my brain for something I could use.

The truth is she had a point. There wasn't much I hadn't tried or liked, especially after all the international travel Lissa's job required.

Unable to think of anything I looked to Liss for help, but it was no use. She was way too involved in devouring her funnel cake to pay any attention to what we were talking about.

It took her a minute to even realize we were both now starring at her powdered sugar covered face.

She grinned sheepishly as she tried wiping her hands off on her pants and Sydney and I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

She looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"You know Liss, if you want we could probably get a funnel cake stand set up at court. Between the three of us Prego's I'm sure we'd get plenty of use out of it."

"Yeah, I'll even go half with you!" Sydney suggested, turning back to her half-finished treat.

Two hours and a couple funnel cakes later we were back at court with full stomachs and full shopping bags.

Dimitri the ever helpful husband to be had taken care of most of the packing.

He claimed he was saving himself from the headache I'd cause him later, but deep down he'd simply wanted to help. The pregnancy had left me scatterbrained and these nightmares left me exhausted.

He had always been a thoughtful man, and thinking about him now I couldn't help but smile.

Dimitri and I had never really planned on getting married. It was rare for a guardian and I was perfectly happy living in sin.

But when we found out about the pregnancy he'd made this adorable speech about wanting to do right by me and this baby, and after very little effort on his part I was sold.

I did however have one request and that was that it be an intimate affair. I had no interest in wearing a poufy white dress or walking down an insanely long aisle while 500 people gawked at me.

So instead we were headed to St. Vladimir's, the place where it all began. It was the beginning of August and with school still out for a few more weeks the place was practically deserted.

We were having a small ceremony at the campus chapel, and would honeymoon in our cabin on the outskirts of the property. To some it might sound quaint, but to me it sounded perfect.

Abe had fought me hard on this one, insisting any daughter of his could have the wedding of her dreams; no expense would be spared. But grand and flashy was never our style and begrudgingly he accepted defeat.

After years of being together, most people had come to accept our unconventional way of life, but I knew there were still those that disapproved.

In my younger and more defiant days I would have welcomed a spectacle just to rub it in their faces, but alas it seemed I had matured.

Who knew right?

Now I simply knew better than to waste this kind of day on people who didn't matter. I was finally going to marry Dimitri, the man I'd loved my entire adult life. And the only people I wanted there were the ones who loved us and supported the life we were building together.

After sneaking my last minute purchases into my already packed suitcase, I went to join the girls in the living room.

I had just finished taking a bite out of my recently unwrapped chocolate bar when I noticed Lissa giving me the stink eye.

"What?" I asked mouth full of chocolate.

"Seriously Rose, coffee AND chocolate? You're supposed to be eating healthy!" I was about to object when Sydney chimed in.

"Technically chocolate comes from cocoa which comes from a tree. That make it's a plant, and therefore healthy." She smiled deviously. "You're welcome Rose…"

And we both burst out laughing when we caught sight of Lissa's irritated expression.

"You know Sydney that sounded suspiciously similar to Rose logic; perhaps you two are spending too much time together."

"Actually I borrowed that one from the mind that is Adrian Ivashkov. He used it on me the other day when he caught me crying after polishing off an entire box of chocolates. "She smiled, apparently now guilt free.

There was a time when Sydney struggled with her self-image being the only human surrounded by a bunch of Moroi, but thankfully that had long since passed.

Lissa just shook her head resigned.

"Like I said: Rose logic. It's just like you to want your cake and to eat it too."

"Damn right Liss. What good is having cake if you can't eat it too?"

We were still laughing when the boys walked through the door.

We still had about two hours left before we needed to meet at the air strip.

My mother and Abe had been on business in Russia and were meeting us at St. Vladimir's tonight, along with the rest of Dimitri's family, and the rest of our group would be leaving here from court.

I knew once we got there I'd be spirited off for an all-girls evening and forced to spend the night without Dimitri. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be a problem, it's not like we haven't slept apart before. But the nightmares were there nagging at the back of my mind, and I hated the thought of waking up and not having Dimitri there to comfort me.

Needing to take advantage of what little time I had left, I gave him my best come hither look before faking a huge yawn.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I could sure use a nap before the flight."

Christian rolled his eyes. "How could you possibly be tired Rose, you've barley done anything all day"

"I'm tired because I'm busy turning food into a person." I snapped back. I could see a snarky comment on the tip of his lip but before he got it out Dimitri stepped in.

"She hasn't been sleeping well Christian. Do you really want to antagonize her before you're trapped on a plane together for 3 hours?"

Christian paled at the thought.

"Good looking out Belikov, a nap's probably in everyone's best interest."

And with that I let Dimitri lead me quickly into the bedroom.

* * *

><p><strong>Read and Review Please : )<strong>

**Next chapter will bring them all back to St. Vladimir's...**


	5. Chapter 5

**RPOV**

Driving through the familiar gates of St. Vladimir's, I suddenly felt like I was home.

I wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all; especially considering there was a time when I absolutely hated this place. Hell…I even ran away once!

Of course thinking about that now, running away seemed like the smartest decision I'd ever made. If we hadn't ran away from the academy, I may have never met Dimitri…

Stepping out onto the familiar landing strip, the first person I laid eyes on was Alberta. A wide smile broke out across her face the moment she noticed me and thanks to these ridiculous pregnancy hormones, my eyes involuntarily began to water.

"Welcome home Rosemarie. This place just isn't the same without you." She smiled, pulling back to get a better look at me.

I didn't know it as a child, but Alberta was the reason my mother chose to send me to St. Vladimir's. She had been my own mothers mentor and had always taken it upon herself to look after me throughout the years, even when I didn't exactly make it easy for her.

"It's good to be home." I told her earnestly, smiling when I felt Dimitri's large presence behind me.

"It's good to see you Guardian Petrov." He greeted her formally and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. It was like the man was incapable of being unprofessional.

_Well, everywhere except the bedroom…_

My mind was still mulling over some dirty memories when their conversation took an interesting turn.

"So tell me Belikov, if you had known back then how much trouble this one would be…"

"I would have pretended to lose their trail in Portland." He finished for her with a smirk.

I watched them both laughing with amazement.

_Did Dimitri Belikov just crack a joke with his superior?_

He was still laughing when he caught a playful elbow in the ribs from me a few seconds later.

"Now is that any way to talk about your future wife?" A thick familiar accent chastised from behind.

"Olena!" I cried, flinging myself into my future mother in laws arms. My eyes were already watering and I mentally cursed these damn hormones.

_Pregnancy was turning me into such a girl!_

"Oh Roza!" Olena beamed, squeezing me tightly in her embrace.

_Geez…I forgot how strong these Belikov women could be. _

"Roza!" Another Russian voice called out.

Dimitri's mother deftly moved aside just in time for Victoria to come crashing into me. If not for Dimitri's steading arms behind me, I'm quite certain I would have toppled over.

"I'm here too you know." Dimitri grumbled and I couldn't help but laugh at his disgruntled expression.

"I'm sorry Son, but the person carrying my future grandbaby in their belly gets first priority." She teased, pulling her 6'7 son down to her high for a hug and a kiss.

The rest of the reunions went about the same. It was no secret Dimitri's family adored me and I think our time together in Baia had a lot to do with that. Besides, I'm pretty sure it didn't hurt that I'd managed to do the impossible and find a way to save Dimitri from spending eternity as a soulless monster.

Who wouldn't love me after that?

"Well I hate to break up this lovely family reunion, but us fella's have got a bachelor party to get to." Adrian smirked, trying to dodge the small fist Sydney hurled at his arm.

I groaned at the mere mention of separating from Dimitri as I was already dreading those awful nightmares. I felt ridiculous for being such a baby about all this; I was a guardian for crying out loud. I could handle one night alone without Dimitri right?

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Dimitri asked.

I swear it's like the man is a mind reader sometimes.

"I'll be fine." I tried to reassure him, although I don't know why I even bothered.

From the moment I'd met Dimitri I'd never been able to lie to him. He had this irritating and uncanny ability to see right through my bullshit. It was annoying as crap right now, but would definitely come in handy when this baby was a teenager.

"Roza, we can cancel the parties; everyone will understand."

"What?" Adrian screeched. "Aww come on man, Sydney and I got hitched in Vegas, I never got a bachelor party!" He whined.

"That's the same excuse you used when we let you plan Christian's bachelor party" Dimitri countered rolling his eyes. "You need new material."

Adrian was still grumbling about the unfairness of it all when Dimitri turned his attention back to me. A small part of me was tempted to take him up on his offer. The way he was looking at me right now, so full of love and concern, well it was really turning me on.

But this was bigger than that; this was about me facing this ridiculous fear of being alone. Tasha was locked behind bars, she couldn't hurt me anymore, and after her trial next week she'd never be able to hurt anyone ever again. I could do this, and I would do this.

"We're not canceling the parties" I told him sternly. "Now go enjoy your last night of freedom because tomorrow, your ass in mine." I teased, slapping his ass playfully with a wink.

Dimitri chuckled, wrapping both arms securely around my waist. With my own body pressed so tightly against his my resolve was tempted to waver. He leaned down, enveloping me in a passionate kiss. My knees were starting to go weak when he finally pulled away for air, resting his forehead against mine.

"Try and have a good time Milaya, and if you need anything I'm just a phone call away." He leaned down to kiss me once more before untangling my limbs from around his body. He chuckled a little at my reluctance as he picked up his bags.

"I love you." He told me, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.

"I love you too." I told him, doing my best not to cry when he started walking away.

_Damn these hormones!_

"Don't worry Roza; we're going to keep you so busy you won't even have a chance to miss him." Victoria smirked. Something about the way she was smiling at me made me nervous.

"What did you do…?" I asked eyeing her warily. She laughed heartily at the accusation before slinging her arm around my shoulder and leading me in the direction of guest housing.

"Let's just say we've got a whole night planned you won't soon be forgetting…"

The rest of the girls started laughing and I couldn't help but join in. I should probably be scared but the adventurous side of me couldn't bring myself to worry about it. Besides with a couple of old ladies and 3 pregnant chicks, how much trouble could we really get in?

* * *

><p><strong>Read and Review please! : ) Next chapter will be the bachelorbachelorette festivities. **


	6. Chapter 6

**DPOV**

"Seriously Belikov, what kind of guy doesn't want a bachelor party in Vegas?" Adrian complained.

"The kind of guy who isn't sad to see his bachelor days go." I told him.

We were sitting around the guardians lounge engaged in a low stakes game of Texas Hold'um. Personally I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. I'd never been much for partying and gambling; besides with half the girl's at Rose's bachelorette party pregnant, it hardly seemed appropriate that we should get to enjoy a big blow out.

"You're just saying that to suck up to Rose's father." Adrian mumbled, glancing in Abe's direction. I know he thought he couldn't hear him but the smirk on Abe's face while he dealt another hand said otherwise.

"Oh I don't Ivashkov; something tells me your wife wouldn't have cared much for that plan either." Christian added.

We'd all learned the hard way just what our wives wouldn't appreciate after we'd let Adrian plan Christians bachelor party…

"Hey, Sage knows what she signed up for when she married me." Adrian defended himself.

"To be fair, you conned the girl into marrying you while you were both on the run for your lives…" Christian reminded him, taking another swig of his beer. A couple of the guys had to stifle a laugh over that one and Adrian looked down right offended.

"And 4 years later were still going strong!"

_I had to admit it, the man had a point._

"You know, speaking of Miss Sage, I've been dying to know, with an attitude like yours, how have you managed to stay married this long?" Abe asked.

It was a valid question, one I'd asked myself on several occasions.

"Oh that's simple." Adrian smirked. "Marriage is just picking the right person to be in the foxhole with; and when you're not in the foxhole you keep your dick in your pants."

_Wow…_

"How poetic." Christian grimaced folding the cards in his hands.

We all laughed at Adrian's convoluted logic before indulging in several more rounds of poker and another bottle of the good scotch.

Along with the usual suspects, Stan, Mikhail, Hans and Abe were partaking in the festivities although they didn't hold out as long as the rest of us and once Abe turned in, that's when the dirty jokes really started.

Under normal circumstances I wasn't opposed to getting drunk with Abe; the man was actually a lot of fun once you got to know him. But it was no secret the man cherished his only daughter and this time tomorrow he'd be my father in law. The last thing I wanted to do was give him any reason to think I was less than worthy.

After suffering an unendurable amount of dirty jokes at my expense, those drunken idiots finally passed out, giving me a chance to be alone with my thoughts.

I still couldn't believe it; this time tomorrow I'd be a married man.

Growing up a male Dhamphir, I never really imagined my life could turn out this way. It was uncommon to even maintain a steady relationship, never mind actually getting married. In fact, it had seemed damn near impossible and yet here we are.

I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. I'd long since learned that with Rose there was no such thing as impossible.

Knowing that sleep wasn't likely to come easy, I thought a nice walk down memory lane might help calm my nerves. I wasn't used to falling asleep without Rose and my mind kept wondering how she was doing.

I was seriously contemplating calling her, but when I entered the small campus chapel I found it wasn't necessary. Glancing around at the already decorated pews, my eyes fell upon a head of long dark curls. She hadn't noticed me yet, giving me a chance to admire her beauty from afar.

She looked almost angelic under the ambiance of the candlelight. I stared at her for a few moments longer before the sound of my shuffling caught her attention. She spun around on high alert only to soften the moment she realized it was me.

"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." She smirked, flashing her signature smile.

_God she was beautiful._

"I believe we make our own luck." I told her, taking a seat beside her in the pew. With one armed draped over her shoulder she snuggled into my side.

I'm not sure how long we sat there in companionable silence before she decided to speak.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you hadn't met me?" she asked.

"I try very hard not to. It wasn't much of a life before you came along." I admitted, earning a heart stopping smile in return.

"You know, I never expected to find love in this place, or myself for that matter. But I did both, because of you. You came into my life when I was as lost as a person could be and yet somehow you saw something in me that gave me direction again. I'm not sure if I ever thanked you for that…for saving me." I told her, looking deep into those beautiful brown eyes that were pooling with tears.

If I'd learned one thing during this pregnancy it was that an overly emotional woman was just part of the package and the spontaneous tears were nothing to be concerned over.

"We saved each other." She whispered, pressing his face into the crook of my neck.

I could tell her mind was somewhere else and at the risk of incurring her wrath I decided to ask her about it.

"Are you going to tell me what it is that's got you out wandering the campus at such a crazy hour?"

I felt her stiffen next to me before she spoke.

"You first." She said.

I let out a soft chuckle at her attempt to deflect but decided to humor her anyway.

"Just taking a walk down memory lane. Now what's your excuse?" I pushed. Clearly she had something on her mind.

"I was just trying to get a little perspective. Being back here, it's weird you know. I look around this place and it seems like only yesterday that you dragged Liss and I back here kicking and screaming."

_I knew exactly how she felt._

"I don't know. I guess it just got me to thinking about everything that's happened, how we survived it all. It kinda feels like a miracle." She continued, playing with a loose thread of string on her t shirt.

"That's because it is a miracle. You fought for me Rose, even when the world gave you every logical reason not to, and now here we were. This life we have together, it's all because of you. I don't know about you, but I can't look at everything we've overcome and not see a miracle." I told her, pulling her closer into my embrace.

She let out a contented sigh and her hands moved absent-mindedly to rest on her growing stomach.

"I don't know if I can sleep alone tonight." She whispered. I could hear the slight edge of fear laced in her voice and it tugged at my heart.

"You know how Lissa feels about traditions." I reminded her, trying to keep my voice light and teasing.

"Yeah well screw traditions. It's my wedding and I'll do as I please. Bridezilla will just have to get over it." She grumbled, causing me to laugh.

As maid of honor, Lissa was taking this whole wedding business very seriously and we'd been affectionately referring to her as Bridezilla for weeks now.

"You know...we could spend a little QT at the cabin…for old time's sake." She winked, giving me a suggestive smile.

_It was a pretty tempting offer…_

"As wonderful as that sounds Milaya, I think we better save that for the honeymoon. According to Christian, Lissa has gone to great lengths to surprise us and we both know how bad you'll feel if you disappoint her."

It wasn't that I didn't want to sleep with her, but I knew how weak it made her feel to need me. These nightmares that were plaguing her mind, she needed to find a way to get a handle on them. She was stronger than her own fear and I wanted her to remember that.

"Fine" she grumbled. "But you had better make it up to me tomorrow night!"

"Yes dear." I chuckled, pressing a light kiss to her temple.

I would have been content to sit there in that church with her all night, but as her yawns became more frequent I knew she really needed some sleep. With great reluctance she let me pull her from the church and send her on her way.

"Try to get some rest Milaya. Before you know it, it'll be our wedding day." I smiled, one of my full rare smiles. Her own beautiful face lit up in return.

"Last chance to back out…" she teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Don't even think about it." I warned, pulling her flush against my body and smothering her lips with my own. I kissed her until she was breathless before letting her pull back for some air.

"I'll meet you at the altar." I told her, slapping her butt playfully. She jumped a little and glared before rolling her beautiful brown eyes.

"I'll be the one in white."

As I watched her walk into the building, my mind kept wondering what I'd ever done to deserve her, and after a number of minutes I'd concluded that I'd done nothing what so ever.

Four years ago, I was just a guy who had a crush on a girl he knew he could never have. I watched her and I waited and I loved her from a far, all the while knowing that no matter how hard I tried to fight it we would inevitably find our way back to one another. We were one half of the same whole, destined to be together.

I knew she felt this whole wedding business was silly, but I didn't care. I'd loved Rose Hathaway since the first moment I saw her and this ceremony and those rings were simply a way for me to show the rest of the world what had been in my heart for as long as I'd known her.

I didn't know what the future would hold for us, but I knew we would face it together; as husband and wife.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews Please : ) Lots and lots of reviews!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**RPOV**

The bright lights filtering through the curtains woke me far too early for my liking. Even after my midnight rendezvous with Dimitri, sleep hadn't come easy and I wasn't looking forward to the spectacle I was about to star in.

If it had been up to me we would have pulled a page out of the Adrian/Sydney playbook and hitched a ride to Vegas, but of course Lissa wouldn't even hear of it. This wedding was a big deal both personally and politically and as the Queen's personal guardian I was expected to treat it as such.

_Like I really gave a crap what a bunch of snotty Royals thought about my nuptials._

"Rise and shine!" Lissa called out pushing her way through the door.

I'd been hoping for a few more minutes of quiet before the circus started but apparently her Highness had other ideas.

Normally I would have complained about the sudden intrusion but the box of Krispy Kremes in her hands convinced me otherwise.

_Hey all's well that ends in doughnuts…_

"Okay Rose, last chance to back out of this." Sydney teased coming to sit beside me on the bed. Thanks to her ever growing stomach it was a lot harder than it should be.

"Not gonna happen." I told her in between large bites of doughnuts and both girls laughed at my total lack of etiquette.

"Let's just hope she has better table manners at the reception." Lissa giggled.

After a satisfying number of doughnuts the beauty police arrives and I spent the next several hours in front of a vanity table letting Lissa treat me like her own my size Barbie.

Thanks to last night's festivities it was nearly noon before the rest of the girls were among the living. Victoria, who had taken it upon herself to drink my share of the alcohol herself was a walking/talking definition of a hung over bridesmaid and the source of my afternoon entertainment.

Much to my surprise the day actually passed rather quickly and before I knew it we were ready to head over to the chapel.

I thought I'd feel more nervous the closer the wedding came, but as the clock ticked down I was still the picture of serenity. I guess that's what happens when you are marrying your soul mate.

I was standing in front of the mirror appraising Lissa's handy work when I caught sight of his reflection standing behind me in the mirror. In a shocking turn of events he was actually dressed halfway reasonable; the only outward sign of his usual flamboyance was the small gold hoop earring he couldn't part with.

"You look beautiful Kiz." Abe smiled at me fondly.

He may not have been around much when I was a child, but he'd more than made up for it in the last couple of years, and I was happy that he could be here today.

"How's Dimitri?" I asked, trying not to dwell on Abe's amused smirk.

"He got off to a rough start this morning but don't worry, we got him all sorted out."

I wasn't really sure what to make of such a cryptic answer but I was probably better off not knowing.

"Okay Rose, it's time!" Lissa announced shuffling back into the room. Behind her trailed Sydney along with the rest of the Belikov women.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" My mother asked walking into the room last. She had a small jewelry box in her hands and I could almost see the light bulb go on in Lissa's head.

"The presents!" she squealed smacking a palm to her forehead.

"What presents?" I asked, my eyes searching the crowded room.

"Oh come on Rose, they're a tradition." Lissa reminded me rolling her eyes.

Oh yes, I remember this now. We had to do this whole charade for Lissa's wedding with the something old, new, borrowed and blue. Personally I didn't really believe in superstitions but like everything else about this wedding I knew it was easier to just humor her.

"Okay so your dress is your something new." Lissa announced proudly.

We'd spent weeks searching for the perfect dress and in the end, Lissa got sick of all my rejections and had enlisted the court seamstress to get me something custom made. At the time I thought it was all pretty ridiculous but the second I stepped into that dress, I turned into a total girl. With a tasteful sweetheart neck line and a figure slimming cut, the dress itself turned out to be perfection and I had to admit I looked damn good in it. You could barely even make out my growing bump!

"For your something old." Olena told me, handing over a square box. I opened the lid to reveal a beautiful and delicate lace veil. It was stunning.

"Yeva wore this veil the day she married my father." Olena explained, taking the veil out of the box and moving to place it in my hair.

I lifted my head to scan the room, only to lock eyes with Yeva.

"A family heirloom." She told me simply with a small nod of her head. Yeva wasn't a woman of many words, and I knew that simple statement was her way of officially welcoming me into the family.

"Thank you." I whispered, too emotional to come up with anything more eloquent.

"Okay here's your something borrowed." Sydney stepped forward, flinging a shiny silk garter into my face. "And I wan't that back by the way." she winked causing the other girls in the room to giggle.

I stole a quick glance at my father and noticed he was an unusual shade of pink. I had to stifle a laugh about that one. I guess even after years of living with Dimitri and a baby on the way, he liked to pretend I didn't have any kind of sex life.

_Fathers…_

When he caught me staring at him he suddenly cleared his voice and stepped forward with my mother.

"And here's your something blue." Janine said placing the mysterious velvet box in my hand.

My breath caught in my throat the moment I opened the lid. Nestled safely inside was a beautiful pair of large sapphire and diamond earrings. There was a small cluster of diamonds at the base and a large tear dropped shaped sapphire hanging underneath.

"Now I know these earrings might be a little opulent for your taste, but they belonged to my mother and you can't deny their beauty." Abe added from beside my mother.

I had to admit he was right. The earrings weren't something I'd have ever allowed myself to splurge on, but that didn't mean I wasn't in love with them.

"They're perfect." I smiled, already removing the small diamond stud earrings I'd put in earlier. I took the new earrings out of their box, still marveling over their sheer beauty.

"There, now you are officially perfect." Lissa decided once the new earrings were in place.

"Thank you." I said, looking around at all the faces in the room. There was a lot of love around here and I could feel those traitorous hormonal tears trying to fight their way to the surface. I held them at by for now, but something told me that by the time this day was over they will have won the war.

"Are you ready?" Abe asked, extending a free arm out to me.

I took it gratefully, along with a deep breath before we headed towards the exit.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter is the Wedding! : ) Reviews Please. <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**DPOV**

"Quit fidgeting." Christian ordered while he tried to straighten my bow tie.

Ever since the whole vow fiasco this morning I was completely on edge. What was I thinking waiting so long to write my vows?

_*Flashback*_

_When we woke up that morning everyone had a job to do. Lissa was nothing if not thorough and went to great lengths to ensure no detail was over looked. Adrian was in charge of flowers, while Eddie and Christian were sent to decorate the church. As for me, my only job was to finish my vows. _

_Now normally I wasn't the type to procrastinate; in fact that was actually Rose's department. But in the last few weeks I'd been a little more than distracted. Every time I sat down to write my vows it seemed something or someone always needed my attention. Between Rose's pregnancy, my extra guardian shifts and Tasha's upcoming trial, I was barely keeping my head above water. I kept telling myself there would be time for it later and honestly how hard could it be?_

_Well as it turns out, it was a lot harder than I thought. _

"_Making any progress?" Eddie asked coming into the guardians lounge for a cup of coffee. _

_I had been sitting here for over an hour and all I had to show for it was a heap of crumpled up papers._

"_It shouldn't be this difficult!" I growled, nearly snapping the worn down pencil in my hand. _

"_I'll take that as a no…" Eddie joked trying to lighten the mood. The wedding was in less than 3 hours, and Lissa and Rose were going to kill me…_

"_How goes the love letter?" Adrian asked casually strolling into the room. _

_Great…just what I needed; more pressure._

"_Dimitri can't write his vows." Eddie chuckled, clearly amused by my current predicament._

"_Ha!" Adrian laughed. "Liss and Rose are gonna kill you!"_

_I could feel my carefully constructed self-control starting to snap._

"_That isn't helpful!" I barked, running a hand through my already tousled hair. I had to resist the urge to rip out a chunk in my aggravation._

"_What's his problem?" Abe questioned when he and Christian came to see what all the fuss was about._

"_No vows." Adrian smirked, trying to cover up his amusement once he caught me glaring in his direction. _

_What exactly about this was so amusing? I was getting married in 3 hours and I couldn't think of one appropriate thing to say about the woman I loved._

"_This is ridiculous." I shouted, roughly pushing my chair back from the table. The force of it was so hard it sent the chair clattering to the floor with a loud bang. "I love Rose, why is that so difficult to say?"_

_Looking around the room I couldn't decide if they looked more amused or terrified. I was well known for my self-control and my sudden lack of it spoke volumes. _

"_Okay okay, just take a deep breath Son, we can figure this out. I mean really, how hard could it be?" Abe reasoned._

_Famous last words Old Man…_

_*End Flashback*_

Turns out, Abe was actually right. It still took a while and several unsuccessful attempts but I was eventually able to get my thoughts down on paper. Now all I could do was hope Rose would like it.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

Standing at the chapel entrance all those earlier nerves I'd been worried about came rushing to the surface.

Was I ready for this? Were my vows good enough? What if I tripped walking down the aisle?

_That would be humiliating…_

"Just breathe Kiz" Abe chuckled in my ear. I turned my head to find he was looking at me with an amused smile. "You are ready for this, Dimitri loves you, and don't worry, I'd never let you trip and fall."

_What the hell was he, a mind reader?_

"How did you know?" I asked, suddenly more interested in his freaky parlor trick than my own nerves.

"Fatherly secrets." He winked, tightening his grip on my arm. I would have pressed him further but the sound of Pachelbel's Cannon let me know that was my clue.

"Last chance…" Abe chuckled gesturing towards the exit.

"Just walk Old Man." And laugheding he led me through the church doors.

* * *

><p>The moment the church doors opened, my eyes were immediately searching for him. This wedding, the dress, and all these people staring at me; it was all for him and I needed to remember why it was worth it.<p>

And then I found him.

Standing proudly at the altar, he wasn't that hard to find. His 6'7 frame was dressed handsomely in a crisp tux and his beautiful brown hair was tied back at the nape of his neck.

But his smile…his smile was what was breathtaking.

Standing up there waiting for me, he wore one of his full beautiful smiles and I swear I could feel my heart skip a beat in my chest.

Right then in that moment I couldn't wait to be in his arms. I suddenly didn't care about the crowded church or the watchful eyes; all I cared about was Dimitri. Thankfully it was a short aisle and the moment my father slipped my hand in Dimitri's I felt like I was home.

"You look beautiful." He whispered huskily, never taking his eyes off of mine.

"You don't look so bad yourself Comrade." I winked back.

He chuckled softly before turning our bodies to face the minister.

Lissa had insisted that we go along with tradition, so we dutifully suffered through the usual boring speal. But when the time came to say our vows Lissa mercifully let us make a few exceptions.

Taking both of my hands gently in his, Dimitri went first.

_"Roza,_

_Growing up in this life, I never wanted to have anything I couldn't stand to lose. With the lives we lead, love just didn't seem like it was possible._

_Of course that all changed the moment I met you._

_Before you, I didn't even know what real love was. I was stubborn and closed off, but loving you changed all that._

_When I lost faith, you believed in me. When I stumbled you lead the way. Everything that's good in me is a direct result of loving you, and for that I can never thank you enough._

_You fought for me, when the world gave you every logical reason not to, and if it weren't for your blind devotion I wouldn't even be standing here today._

_A love like ours doesn't come around everyday and I want you to know how much I cherish it. How much I cherish you._

_You are my first thought after waking in the morning and my last thought before I fall asleep every night. I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, but I promise to spend the rest of my life showing you just how grateful I am._

_I love you Roza, with my whole heart for my whole life. This I vow to you, today and always."_

I stared up at the man I loved, and with my eyes full of tears I shook my head and laughed.

"Now how am I supposed to follow that Comrade?"

Most of our friends and family let out soft chuckles at that and after taking a few deep breaths and wiping my eyes, it was my turn.

_"Dimitri,_

_There are so many things I could say about you but the one thing that stands out is how much you've changed me._

_For most of my life, it was just me and Lissa; us against the world._

_And then you showed up._

_We may not have started off with the most conventional of romances, but what we share has always gone beyond that. It has defied time and changes and every explanation but one; purely and simply: we are soul mates._

_Now I know how much you like to say that I saved you, but the truth is we saved each other._

_Before you I was just some bitter and pissed off runaway and look at me now; I'm practically down right respectable!"_

_I could the sound of more chuckles coming from our friends and family but my eyes were still locked on Dimitri's._

_"It's because of you that I stand here today a better guardian, a better person, and 6 months from now I'll be able to add a better mother to that list. You bring out the best in me Dimitri and I want you to know how much I appreciate that. How much I appreciate you._

_Our life together may not be easy but I can promise you that it will always be worth it._

_I love you Dimitri, with my whole heart for my whole life. This I vow to you today and always."_

Looking into Dimitri's eyes as I finished, I found the same love and adoration reflected in my own. For all his years of discipline and self-control he had completely let down his walls, not even caring in this moment who could read his emotions.

With his own eyes brimming with tears, he gingerly took my hand and slid my wedding ring into its rightful place; and afterwards I did the same.

"By the power vested in me, by the great state of Montana I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Quicker than he could say "You may kiss the bride" Dimitri had his large arms around me, enveloping me in a passionate kiss. With little regard for the bouquet of flowers in my hands, I flung both of my own arms around his neck, and kissed him back until I was dizzy.

It was a perfect kiss; the kind of kiss that makes you wish you could stop time and just stay in that one perfect moment forever. Of course, that couldn't happen and the small sound of someone clearing their throat brought us back to the present.

"Ahem." The minister chuckled softly and we quickly broke apart with sheepish smiles.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Dimitri Belikov."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you liked it. Reviews please : )<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**RPOV**

If you ask me, honeymoons really ought to last two weeks because seriously, who even gets out of bed for the first?

Especially if the man you just married is Dimitri.

Not only did he look like a God and fight like a God, but that Godliness extended to the bedroom as well. That alone was enough to make me want to chain the man up for days, but it turns out that pregnancy tends to make women incredibly horny.

And I was no exception.

After spending a relaxing and reclusive week in our own slice of heaven it was time to head back to reality, and we reluctantly left St. Vladimir's and the cabin behind.

If it had been up to Dimitri we probably would have stayed in that cabin forever, but Tasha's trial was in 2 days and I was anxious to get home in time.

As far as couples go, Dimitri and I barely fight but on the rare occasion that we do, it's always something major. For instance my unrelenting desire to be present at Tasha's trial.

The first time I brought it up Dimitri completely blew his fuse. It was understandable really, given that I was pregnant and the woman did shoot me. But it was for exactly that reason that I felt it was important I be there.

We'd still been arguing about it the day we left for St. Vladimir's, but in the interest of a happy wedding, we'd called a temporary seize fire. Of course now that we were home, all bets were off.

I knew something was going on with Dimitri; he'd been squirrely ever since we'd returned home from court.

The first day we'd gotten back Mikhail had shown up delivering some sort of cryptic message and Dimitri took off like a bat out of hell. At first I didn't think anything of it, but then he came home that night acting like what he'd done wasn't suspect and I immediately knew he was hiding something.

I spent two days waiting for that mule of a man to come lean, and when he didn't I decided to take matters into my own hands.

That's how I ended up here.

It was the middle of the night and I was slowly making my way down the long corridor. The place was pretty much deserted and the only sound I could hear was the soft echo of my footsteps on the cold marble floor.

After my own brief time in captivity I'd made it a general rule to always try and avoid this place. But after my conversation with Mikhail I didn't really have a choice now.

When I reached the large double doors of my final destination, I was tempted to turn around and go back. Dimitri would be furious if he knew I was here, especially since he'd made a great sacrifice so I'd never have to be.

Unfortunately for him, my own curiosity got the best of me and I shoved my guilt to the back of my mind. There'd be plenty of time to deal with that later.

Walking into the court prison was like stepping into a time machine. Everything was exactly how I remembered it; the bright lights and cold sterile smelling atmosphere. It seemed untouched by time and I couldn't help the light shudder that rippled through me as I recalled my own memories.

"Is there something I can help you with Guardian Hathaway?"

I was so caught up in reliving my own history that I hadn't even noticed the guardian staring at me expectantly.

"I'm here to see Tasha Ozera." I told him, trying not to wince as I said her name. She seemed to have that effect on me.

"I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over." He started to apologize, but before he had a chance to finish Mikhail showed up beside me.

"It's alright Guardian Winslow, she's with me." He explained and without another question he gave him a nod of approval. After Sonya and Mikhail had their baby two years ago, Mikhail had accepted a position as the head of the court prison in order to stay closer to home.

"Thank you for doing this." I told him as he led me into the small holding room. Tasha hadn't been brought in yet which was nice since it gave me a moment to collect my thoguhts.

"After what you did for Sonya and me, you know I could never refuse you. Just do me a favor and don't mention this to Dimitri." He winked playfully.

I had to admit it, even after all this time I still enjoyed watching him put the fear of God in people.

_What can I say; my husband is a total badass!_

"It'll be our little secret." I reassured him, settling myself down into the uncomfortable plastic chair.

"Alright then, Tasha should be here any minute, but if you find that seeing her s too much for you, I'll be right on the other side of the glass. Just give me the signal and she'll be gone." Mikhail promised.

After thanking him again, he quietly left the room but I didn't have to wait long before they brought Tasha in.

I watched her nervously as one of the guardians ushered her into the room and handcuffed her to the table. If she was surprised to see me, she didn't let it show. Once she was safely secured to the small metal table, I gave myself a moment to assess her appearance.

Her once long black hair was now cropped short and oily. Her already pale complexion was even more pronounced from the fatigue, and the life in her ice blue eyes was nowhere to be found.

It didn't take me long to come to the conclusion; prison life hadn't been kind to her.

For the longest time both of us just sat there, engaged in a silent game of say Uncle, but after a while she seemed to grow bored and finally broke the silence.

"What are you doing here Rose?"

She stared at me with her dead shark eyes and her voice was cold as stone.

"I could ask you the same thing." I told her. "You're the one that tried compelling a guard to send for me."

I saw a flash of recognition in her eyes, but I knew she'd admit to doing anything. It was against the law to use compulsion on another; not that Tasha has much regard for the rules. She did murder someone…

When it didn't seem like she was going to answer I decided to leave, but the sound of her voice kept me seated in my chair.

"Does Dimka know you're here?" she asked. I couldn't help the guilty expression that washed over me, and I saw Tasha smirk slightly in response. "He won't be happy about this." She taunted.

With the way she was looking at me right now, it took all of my self-control not to reach across the table and strangle her. But I needed answers and I wasn't going to leave here until she gave them to me.

"He'll get over it." I shrugged nonchalantly. "Now tell me what you want."

The look she gave me reminded me of one a mother would a small child who had just asked a silly question.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I need your help."

_Was she kidding me?_

"Why the hell would I ever help you?" I asked. "You tried to kill me!"

Her eyes hardened in response.

"That was an accident Rose and you know it. I simply panicked." She clarified.

_This bitch was unbelievable…_

"Can the same be said about the time you killed Tatianna after stealing my stake and framing me for murder? Because I gotta tell you, that one seems suspiciously orchestrated for someone who simply panicked."

She wouldn't dignify my question with a response but the way she rolled her eyes at me spoke volumes.

"You know for someone who likes to play the martyr all the time, you are pretty self-absorbed." She chuckled.

"Yeah well for someone who called me here to ask for help, you're doing a pretty crappy job of it." I shot back.

_I may not like the bitch, but there was no denying she had balls._

She looked at me purposefully before she let out another dark chuckle.

"Who needs to bother with pleasantries when they carry a trump card?" She asked smugly. I didn't have a clue what she was referring to but in the interest of getting this over with I decided to ask.

"Okay Tasha, I'll bite. Tell me this trump card of yours that's going to magically convince me to help set a murderer free."

I saw her flinch a bit when I used the term murderer and I knew from my conversations with Christian that she considered Tatianna's death a casualty of war; further proof that the nut was off her rocker.

"You'll help me because I know you and I know you don't want to see Christian lose his only family." She smiled sweetly. "I'm all that boy has left in the world."

I won't deny that I had considered what this might do to Christian before, but it was disgusting how willing she was to use his affections to get to me, especially since even Christian himself wouldn't stand up and support her.

"Christian made his peace with your fate a long time ago Tasha. What else do you got?"

For the first time since I'd entered the room, I saw a bit of life in her dead eyes. What I said had hit a nerve and I knew this wasn't the reaction she was hoping for.

Was she honestly so delusional that she thought Christian's friendship was enough to sway me?

"And what about Dimka?" she countered. "Has he made his peace with it as well?"

That one was a little tricky, especially given the fact that he'd been sneaking down here to see her without telling me.

"I'm not sure Dimitri will ever find peace after the way you betrayed him, but I am sure he'll be better off when you're gone." I told her honestly. It might be hard for Dimitri, but once this trial was over we could all move on with the rest of our lives.

I hadn't noticed it when I was speaking, but at someone point I must have removed my hands from my lap because as I waited in silence for a snappy comeback, I noticed Tasha's focus was now entirely on my hand.

"What the hell is that? She asked quietly, her voiced laced with venom.

It took me a moment before I realized she'd just spotted my wedding rings.

"It's exactly what it looks like." I told her bluntly, trying not to sound too smug about it. I may hate the woman but that didn't mean I had to be cruel.

"Dimka married you?" She shouted, her slight figure shaking in rage. If this was a cartoon right now, she'd be the character with the smoke coming out of her ears.

"He can't marry you!" she repeated bewildered. "Guardian's don't get married!"

"I hate to break it to you Tasha, but it's a brave new world out there. Did you know Lissa even discovered a way for Dhampirs to procreate using spirit magic?" I asked.

Her eyes darted down to my carefully concealed stomach and the look on her face was downright murderous.

"No, this is all wrong." She growled. "It's not supposed to be this way!"

Her eyes were glossing over with angry tears, and if this had been anybody else I would have felt bad.

But it wasn't.

"It's over Tasha; it's time for you to move on. Everybody else has."

With the way her face was contorted in rage, she hardly even looked like a human.

"I won't let you do this Rose! I won't let you take him from me!"

This conversational had just gone from merely nauseating to genuinely disturbing. Did she honestly think she could ever make Dimitri love her?

"It's already done Tasha, and he was never yours to begin with. Dimitri and I love each other and we're building a life together. Were married, with a baby on the way and now it's time for you to take responsibility for your actions. I won't help you Tasha, not for Dimitri's sake or anybody else's."

Even as the words were leaving my mouth, I knew it was pointless. She'd had 4 years to come to terms with this, and there was no reasoning with an unreasonable person. It was time for me to go.

Looking over in the direction of the mirror I gave Mikhail the signal that it was time to wrap this up. I'd come here looking for answers, but it was clear to me now she didn't have any. Drawing me to her had been just another attempt at getting to Dimitri.

When the door swung open behind me, Tasha's eyes widened in shock. One minute she was killing me with her mind and the next she was making googily eyes at the figure standing behind me. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened, and I was pretty confident I wouldn't find that it was Mikhail standing in that doorway.

_Damn it…..I was in trouble now!_

* * *

><p><strong>I hope nobody was too disappointed, but I just didn't see the point in dragging out the wedding festivities a few more chapters. We saw the good stuff and we know that they were happy, but a girl can only write so much fluff in a row. Plus I have a direction this story needs to go in and I was eager to start making that happen. <strong>

**Don't forget to leave a review please! : )**


	10. Chapter 10

**DPOV**

Call it intuition or maybe just years of living with the woman, but when I woke up alone in the middle of the night, I knew exactly where Rose would be.

_Why couldn't she ever leave things well enough alone?_

After throwing on a pair of pants and my duster I started off towards the court prison.

Roza had always been reckless so I shouldn't have been surprised, but I guess I'd just been hoping that with the pregnancy she'd start exercising a little more caution.

_I guess I was wrong._

It didn't take me long to reach the prison and the moment I stepped inside the guardian on duty recognized me. He looked like he was about to greet me with a smile but when he caught sight of my livid expression his face dropped.

Even with my Strigoi days long behind me, I still had a tendency to make people nervous. I don't think I will ever fully live down that day in the coffee shop when I dispatched the royal guard.

And secretly I didn't want to.

A healthy dose of fear never hurt anyone and it served as a nice reminder. I wasn't the kind of man that you trifled with and that protection extended to my friends and family as well.

"Is my wife still in there?" I asked the man shortly. Part of me felt a little guilty for being so sharp with him, but I was too frustrated to worry about that now.

He nodded his head quickly.

"I'm sorry Guardian Belikov; Guardian Tanner gave her the all clear.

_Of course he did._

After helping reunite Mikhail and Sonya, he'd come to regard Rose as a savior of sorts and I guess I couldn't really blame him. If it had been Rose I was separated from, I would probably feel the same way. I knew he held a high opinion of her and he'd been less than thrilled about keeping Rose in the dark lately. He felt she had a right to know about Tasha and only agreed to keep it a secret because of the baby.

After learning Tasha had compelled a guard while we were on our honeymoon, I had gone to visit her right away. I wasn't all that surprised she had broken her promise, but I still wanted to give her a piece of my mind anyway.

When I got home that night I knew Rose was suspicious, but after a couple of days passed, she seemed to forget about the incident.

Or at least that's what I thought.

It was my fault really, thinking Rose would ever just drop it like that. And I definitely should have known she was up to something.

When I reached the small holding room Roza was in, I briefly contemplated charging in there. I hated the idea of Tasha being anywhere near my growing family, but all that would accomplish would be to piss Rose off further. So instead I decided to assess the situation from the opposite side of the glass. Without bothering to knock, I opened the door to find a shocked and slightly guilty looking Mikhail.

"She's my son's Godmother." He shrugged apologetically.

And I just gave his a pointed look.

"How's it going in there?" I asked, stepping closer to the glass to get a look. Rose was the picture of tranquility but I couldn't say the same for Tasha.

"She just spotted Rose's wedding rings." Mikhail explained grimly, trying to catch me up to speed.

_Well that explained it._

I let the conversation go on a few minutes longer, but I was on the edge of my seat and ready to spring into action. After exchanging a few more heated words, Rose looked towards the glass meaningfully.

"That's the signal." Mikhail spoke up, and he didn't have to tell me twice. I was more than ready to have her out of that room and away from Tasha.

I knew she was never in any real danger, not with Tasha chained to the table like she was. But the damage Tasha had caused went beyond the physical and Rose's constant nightmares were proof of that.

Swinging open the door to the holding room caught Tasha's attention and she quickly shifted her focus to me. Judging by the way I saw Rose's body stiffen I had a feeling she knew it wasn't Mikhail. I watched her take a deep breath before she turned her body around to face me. She was bracing for my wrath and the anger that was sure to follow.

"Dimka" Tasha smiled brightly, but I silence her with a dark look.

I eyed Rose carefully as she stood up from her chair and adjusted her shirt over her growing belly, and it was just another reminder of how reckless she had been.

"What were you thinking?" I hissed the moment we were out in the hall.

As angry as I was right now, I would never undermine Rose in front of Tasha.

"I was thinking my husband's been lying to me for day and if I wanted answers I'd need to get them myself!" she shot back a little louder. Rose had always had a temper, and the pregnancy wasn't helping.

"I didn't exactly lie to you." I defended, and in all honesty it was the truth. Rose had never asked me any questions about this outright which allowed me to be vague about my answers.

"Cut the crap Comrade. It was a lie of omission and you know it." She said resting both of her hands on her hips. Her words were angry but I could hear the hurt behind them and I suddenly felt very guilty for not telling her.

"I'm sorry Milaya, but it was for your own good." I argued.

Even to me the words felt inadequate and I didn't blame Rose for rolling her eyes.

"I'm pregnant Dimitri; I'm not made of glass. You should have told me about this!" she shouted back at me.

I was trying very hard not to lose my temper with her but she was making it difficult.

"Why? So you could drag yourself down here, to a building you hate to confront the woman that tried to kill you? What difference would it have mad? You didn't learn anything you don't already know. Tasha is just as delusional as the day she shot you and all you succeeded to do was to put yourself and our unborn baby at risk!"

When I mentioned the baby I saw her look away in shame and when her eyes met mine, I saw she had tears in them.

"Roza" I sighed, taking her gently into my arms. She wrapped her small hands around my torso and buried her face in me.

"I just wanted some answers." She mumbled. "Is that such a terrible thing? She was my friend Dimitri and she did this to me. Don't I deserve to know why?"

Listening to her talk I felt the weight of my guilt start to smother me. For years she'd stayed away from Tasha for my benefit, but I never really considered what she needed, and that was closure.

With a heavy sigh I rested my chin on top of her head. She smelled of jasmine and lilac and I found the scent of it calming.

"Did you find the answers you were looking for?" I asked and she let out a very undignified snort.

"Of course not." She scoffed. "The woman's mad as a hatter."

I chuckled lightly into her hair before kissing it.

"So I was right then…" I challenged and she pulled away from my body to glare at me.

"Don't get used to it." She warned before snuggling back into my chest.

A small part of me wanted to stay angry with her, but I'd long since learned that wasn't possible. Rose was who she was and I'd known that getting into this. So with the fighting now behind us, we left the court prison hand in hand.

Life with Rose wasn't always easy, but it was definitely worth it.

* * *

><p><strong>Lot's of reviews please : ) <strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**RPOV**

It was days like this that made me wish I could drink, and after Tasha trial this morning, we were all walking on eggshells.

"I've tried everything to get him out of that room Rose, but nothings working!" Even through the phone I could picture Lissa's panicked expression.

Despite his earlier decision not to, Christian had shown up at the trial today anyway, although he did remain adamant about not helping her.

It was a tough decision, one I hoped he wouldn't regret, but after the seeing the look on his face when they read the guilty verdict, I wasn't so sure.

"Just give him some time Liss, this can't be easy on him."

Tasha was his last living relative, and this was going to be hard to come to terms with.

"I just hate feeling so useless." Lissa sighed, and I knew exactly how she felt.

Dimitri was on a brave show for my benefit, but I wasn't naïve enough to believe it. There was a time in his life when he considered Tasha his closest friend and I knew he was struggling with her fate as well.

For two days Liss and I let them mope around the house, but when the 3rd day rolled around we couldn't take it anymore.

A couple of phone calls and some half assed planning later, we all but shoved the men out of the door for a guy's night.

"Don't come home until you no longer look like I killed your puppy." I told Dimitri as I closed the door behind him.

To some it might seem harsh, but a hormonal pregnant woman lacks the patience of a saint. Besides I was no expert on the male psyche but a night of pizza and beer never killed anybody. If nothing else, it would serve as a much needed distraction.

Not wanting to sit around the house all night, I'd made the foolish decision of letting Sydney talk us into baby shopping.

We spent hours in the department stores registering for baby gifts but after a while all the pinks and blues started running together.

"Aren't we done yet?" I whined, flopping down in a comfy rocking chair. "I mean how hard is it to pick out a bottle?"

Sydney was twice as big as I was and I didn't know how her feet weren't killing her.

"You can't just pick things out at random Rose, you have to read the consumer safety ratings."

"The consumer what?" I asked her perplexed and I could hear Lissa snickering from a nearby aisle.

"You are utterly hopeless Rose. It's a good thing you have Dimitri for this." Sydney sighed, turning over the box in her hand to read something.

"And what makes you think Dimitri knows anything about this?" I asked, trying and failing to raise one eyebrow.

_4 years later and I still couldn't make that happen!_

"Because Dimitri is the one who told me about it." She smirked, and I had to resist the urge to snort.

Of course Dimitri knew about this; he was the responsible one in our relationship.

It took another hour before we could wrestle the registry scanner out of Sydney's hands and with more bags than we could possibly carry; we headed back to the car.

By the time we reached the parking lot the sun was down. I hated having Lissa out of the wards after dark and I mentally cursed myself for not insisting we leave the mall sooner.

I was paranoid by nature and with my senses on high alert; it didn't take me long before I spotted them.

I grabbed Lissa and Sydney, shoving them behind me while my free hand reached for the stake in my jacket. With their backs up against the SUV, I took up a protective stance in front of them.

All around me I noticed the other guardians doing the same and within a matter of seconds, the parking lot erupted in chaos. There had to be at least 20 Strigoi and we were only a small detail of 8.

It wasn't easy while blocking the path to Lissa, but I still managed to get in a few good kills. I had just finished my 6th kill when I saw the shadow of a slight figure step out in front of me. Yanking my stake out, I turned to face the newest threat, but the moment I locked eyes with her I froze.

_Tell me this isn't happening._

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

I hated to admit it, but Rose had been right about the guys night and I was glad she talked me into it.

After a few pitchers of beer a couple round of bowling, even Christian seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Dude, you're crazy!" I heard Adrian exclaim. "There's no way Hulk wins in a fight against Thor; he's got a magic hammer!"

I had just come back from the bar with another pitcher and I laughed at the turn the conversation had taken. I was just about to throw in my own two sense when I felt my phone vibrating in my jacket pocket.

"Guardian Belikov" I answered formally; I knew it was Hans on the other end.

It wasn't like him to call me on my down time so whatever this call was about was probably serious.

Beside me the guys argument had escalated into Christian holding Adrian in a headlock and I had to move a few feet away from them so I could hear.

"Belikov, is Hathaway with you?" Hans asked urgently.

His question and tone were both ominous.

"No sir, she's with the Queen and Lady Ivashkov. I believe she mentioned something about shopping." I told him, and I could hear him curse under his breath.

"Is everything alright?" I asked warily, and I noticed this conversation had now caught everyone else's attention.

"I'm afraid not." He sighed. "Tasha Ozera has escaped."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this one's a little short, but it is Thanksgiving. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday and don't forget to leave a nice review : )<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**RPOV**

She was standing right in front of me, yet I still couldn't believe it.

"What's the matter Rose, cat got your tongue?"

She was staring at me with a smirk full of malice.

I shook my head trying to clear it but this still didn't make any sense. She'd spent her entire life fighting against the one thing she swore she'd never be; and yet here she was one…

A Strigoi.

"Tasha, how could you do this?" Lissa cried, and I knew her thoughts were of Christian.

He was going to be devastated…

"It's not like you gave me much of choice!" She spat at Lissa. "It was either this or death, and I've still got a few scores to settle."

It didn't escape my notice that she was looking at me when she said this.

My brain was still struggling to form a sentence when she caught me by surprise and lunged. She landed a pretty solid blow to the head and it sent me stumbling back a few steps.

I barely had a chance to steady myself when she lunged at me again. This time she landed a hard kick to the shoulder and my lack of equilibrium sent me hurling towards the ground. I did my best to shield my stomach, but I still felt a ripple of pain on impact.

"Rose!" Lissa screamed, trying to lunge toward me, but thankfully Sydney had the good sense to hold her back.

Reaching down to grab my throat, I felt completely helpless to stop her. I was dizzy and disorientated but the pain in my stomach was a reminder; this wasn't just about me anymore. I fought hard against her, trying to mount some sort of defense, but it was like fighting Dimitri on crack.

"Let her go!" Lissa cried out while Sydney struggled to keep her restrained.

But Tasha barely even spared her a glance.

With her hands wound tightly around my neck, I could feel the darkness creeping up on me. My chest felt tight and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"I'm really going to enjoy this." Tasha smiled as my throat started to close up on me.

I was still teetering on the brink of consciousness when I heard the sound of a car some squealing into the parking lot. The next thing I knew, Tasha's hands were on fire. I briefly felt the heat of the flames on my neck before Tasha yanked her hands away in surprise. She frantically tried to put out the fire and Christian came to stand protectively in front of me.

"Lissa, take Sydney in the car and go." Christian ordered, but his eyes never left Tasha's.

Lissa's own eyes were wide and reluctant, but with very little hesitation, she did as she was asked. I watched as the care pulled safely out of the parking lot and only then did I turn my attention back to Christian.

"Get out of the way." Tasha growled at Christian; her eyes were wild and furious.

"You know I can't do that." Christian growled back. His fists were clenched tightly at his side, but I could see that they were shaking slightly.

When it didn't look like he was going to comply, she tried to make a move around him, but Christian was ready. She had barely taken a step when a protective ring of fire sprang up around us. Tasha flinched back from the flames and her eyes shot daggers at Christian.

"Stop protecting her." She growled menacingly. "She deserves this."

If it had been any other Strigoi, Christian would have set them on fire by now, but I knew he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I won't let you hurt her." Christian sneered back. "If you want her, you've got to go through me."

Tasha seemed to consider this for a moment before a slow sinister smile spread out upon her face.

"If that's how you want it" she shrugged taking a very deliberate step forward before pausing. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

The wall of flames blazing around was growing smaller, and I knew the amount of power Christian was using had to be exhausting. It wouldn't be long no before his magic crapped out on him altogether.

Tasha knew this too and I watched her expression flicker wildly between the two of us.

"Last chance to do the right thing." She taunted, taking yet another small step in our direction.

I knew he'd never walk away from me but I kind of wished he would. I was the one Tasha wanted dead and I hated the idea of leaving Lissa's child without a father.

She was standing directly in front of Christian now and I could see the war that was waging within him. He knew what needed to be done, the question was could he do it?

I knew the exact moment that he made his decision and faster than I could blink, the wall of fire disappeared around us and Tasha went up in flames. The fire that engulfed her wasn't at full capacity, but whether that was because he was tired or trying to give her a fair chance, I didn't really know.

I watched as she frantically tried to put out the fire and when the last flame was extinguished she turned tail and ran.

"This isn't over." She called out over shoulder as she made a bee line for the forest. "This isn't over!"

* * *

><p>That had been 8 days ago and we hadn't heard a word since.<p>

Dimitri was understandably livid and had been working around the clock to get some answers.

I didn't know it at the time, but he'd been there with Christian the night Tasha had attacked. I should have expected as much but the blow to my head had left me pretty foggy and when they'd arrived on the scene the other guardians had needed his help. They'd had to make a split decision, and luckily Dimitri trusted Christian enough to keep me safe.

As for me, I was just pissed off altogether.

Not only had Tasha escaped, but she'd also gotten the jump on me, although I blame that on the element of surprise. But the real problem now was that Dimitri kept treating me like an invalid. Even after the doctor gave me and the baby the all clear, Dimitri had been hovering nonstop.

I loved the man for worrying, but he was driving me insane.

"Come on Little Dhamphir; don't be so hard on him." Adrian told me as he shuffled around some papers on his desk.

If you had told me 4 years ago that Adrian Ivashkov would ever take something serious enough to need an office, I would have laughed you right out of court. But after the work he did with Sonya and Dimitri studying the effects of spirit on restored Strigoi, he had really thrown himself into the cause.

Sydney had been a good influence on him in more ways than one.

It was just about lunch time and it was mine and Adrian's turn to check on Christian.

Ever since his encounter with Strigoi Tasha, we'd been keeping an eye on him in shifts. If we thought he wasn't handling her impending execution very well, it was nothing compared to this.

"Since when are you team Dimitri?" I asked, returning my focus to our conversation. "You're supposed to be on my side." I mumbled disgruntledly.

"Whoa, first of all I'm not Team Dimitri." Adrian clarified making little air quotations as he said the last part. "And secondly I'm always on your side Rose, but I can see where the man is coming from."

"Since when?" I challenged. "You two have never agreed on anything!"

We were standing in the hallway outside of his office and after locking up he turned to face me.

"With the exception of you." He reminded me and he chuckled at my sour expression.

_You know the worlds gone to hell when you have to admit that Adrian Ivashkov's right…_

"Look, at the risk of stirring up some unpleasant memories, try to put yourself in his shoes. You didn't see the guy the night you got shot Rose." I winced slightly at the memory but he didn't notice.

"We were sitting in that hospital waiting room, not knowing if you'd live or die. And I'm parked in one of those awful plastic chairs after you had just ripped my heart out, and all I can think about is how sorry I felt for Dimitri! The man had just stolen the single most important person in my life, but one look at his face told me that was nothing compared to the pain he was in."

It felt so odd to be having this conversation as we walked down the cheery corridor, but it must not have bothered Adrian because he kept right on talking. When we reached the double doors that led out to the courtyard, Adrian stopped me.

"Look, all I'm saying is that the man loves you Rose. He knows what it feels like to almost lose you and you can't fault the guy for being a bit over protective. I'd be the same way if it was Sydney and so would you. I know you remember how it felt when Dimitri was turned Strigoi, and you'd be a liar if you said that feeling didn't make you a little desperate. I was there Rose, and I remember the zombie like state you existed in. You would do whatever it takes to ensure you never feel that way again…and so would Dimitri."

When he was finished he started walking again and I fell into step beside him.

I couldn't admit that he was right or he'd never let me live it down, but there was no denying he made a fair point.

Loosing Dimitri had been the most painful experience of my life, and that was saying something considering I'd once died in a car accident and gotten shot.

"Since when did you become the more reasonable one?" I grumbled and Adrian let out a hearty laugh.

"I hate to break it to you Little Dhamphir, but neither one of us was ever reasonable."

_Okay, he wasn't wrong about that. _

"Speaking of unreasonable people, how long do you think it will take to pull Christian out of this funk?" I asked.

After everything the guy had been through, no one could blame him for his mood. But he was still married to the Queen and expecting a baby so he'd have to pull himself together eventually.

"It's anybody's guess." Adrian grimaced. "But I'm not optimistic."

We were halfway to the palace when Lissa called me. We were already running behind schedule, but the sight of her name on my caller ID was alarming. As far as I knew she should be in meetings all day, so I was pretty sure she wasn't calling me with good news.

It may have been my day off, but that didn't mean I wasn't on my guard.

"Hey Liss, is everything okay?" I asked warily.

I was well past the stage of morning sickness in my pregnancy, so I knew the nausea I was feeling was a product of nerves.

"Rose, please tell me that Christian is with you."

To an outsider her voice sounded calm, but I knew her well enough to detect a twinge of panic. Christian hadn't left their room in days, it was part of the reason we all kept checking up on him. If Christian wasn't there, I couldn't imagine where he would be.

Now I wished I hadn't insisted Dimitri stay with Lissa today.

"And if he's not with me…" I asked lightly, trying not to send her into hysterics. Beside me I saw Adrian raise an eyebrow questioningly.

_Seriously, can everyone do that except for me?_

Then I heard Lissa groan loudly on the other end of the phone.

"Well if he's not with you, then he's missing."

* * *

><p><strong>Don't worry, no one kidnapped him : ) And don't forget to review please! <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Christian's POV**

I still didn't know how she could do this to me. It was bad enough that she'd framed Rose and committed murder, but this?

This was unforgivable.

I'd spent my entire childhood under the stigmatism of what my parent's had done, and no one knew the toll that had taken better than Tasha. She'd suffered the ostracism right along with me. That's what made this all so unbelievable.

My aunt had saved my life as a child and was forced to wear the scars of that day each one after. She'd dedicated her life to fighting for the cause, and had even committed murder in the name of it.

After the last trial I knew she was pretty desperate but this?

Well I just couldn't seem to wrap my mind around it.

When I left the house this morning, I had no real destination in mind. Lissa was in meetings all day and I wasn't really in the mood for company. They were my friends and they meant well, but they were smothering me.

Ever since the night in the parking lot with Rose, it's like my mind can't turn itself off. It wasn't just the shock of what Tasha had done, although that was enough to keep me up at night. But it was also the guilt I was feeling; the unending and relentless guilt. I saw Dimitri's face in the parking lot that night. I'd had the power to end this whole thing and I'd just let her get away.

I love Rose like a sister (albeit an annoying one), and I knew I had to protect her, but Tasha was still my aunt and the woman who raised me. No matter what she'd done, I couldn't destroy her. I was certain it had to happen, but it wasn't going to be by my hands. It couldn't.

I had no real place I had to be this morning, so I decided it'd be nice to go exploring. There was more to court than the extravagant buildings and I figured that out when I stumbled onto this place.

The garden itself showed some serious signs of neglect, but I had no doubt it was once a place of beauty. The vines were overgrown and the stones were crumbling, but the place had charm and I liked it. It was nestled in the woods, not far from the tree line but secluded enough that no one could find me.

Or at least that's what I thought.

I was lying on the damp grass under a willow tree when I heard the unmistakable crunch of footsteps.

For the first few hours I was here I'd been setting fire to the overgrown vines, and the smell of smoke still lingered in the air. I could hear the sound of the footsteps getting closer, but they stopped altogether when Rose laid down on the ground beside me.

"How did you find me?" I asked after it became clear she wasn't going to speak first.

"The smoke kind of gave you away." She said casually before turning her head to look at me. "Next time you want to hide out, try to be less conspicuous." She suggested.

A ghost of a smile played at the corner of my lips before I remember the reason I was out here. The guilt hit me so hard; I could barely even look at her.

Her family was in danger now because I was weak. How was she ever supposed to forgive me?

* * *

><p><strong>Rose's POV<strong>

After Lissa's panicked phone call we'd all split up to go look for him. Judging by the pristine state of their apartment, I seriously doubted anything bad had happened. For all our bitching and squabbling, Christian and I were a lot alike and chances are he just got sick of all the hovering.

I knew I was.

I also knew he was feeling guilty, even if he wouldn't say as much out loud. Dimitri had a similar suspicion and the fact that he could barely look at me pretty much proved it.

If I didn't feel so sorry for him, I would have slapped him for this. It was like we were reliving the time after I got shot all over again.

No one blamed Christian back then and we still didn't now. Tasha was her own person, who'd made her own terrible decisions, but he just kept beating himself up anyway.

It was infuriating!

We spent the rest of the day searching every place Liss and Dimitri could think of, but by the time dinner rolled around, there was still no sign of him. When I could no longer take watching Lissa pace around their apartment, I decided to give it another shot.

In all honesty I wasn't optimistic. If Christian didn't want to be found, then he wouldn't be, and it wasn't like he didn't have experience keeping a low profile. He'd been doing since he was a child. But never the less, the room was still suffocating and the fresh air seemed to be calling to me.

I wasn't sure if it was my superior eyesight or my supersonic pregnancy smell, but when the smoke reached my sense, I had a good feeling.

Who else would be lurking around in the woods, setting things on fire? I could only think of one person:

_Sparky._

When I found him, he was lying on the grass in some ruined garden. I wasn't even sure how he'd found this place. I'd never seen it and I'd walked this perimeter at least 100 times.

I could tell just by looking at him that he didn't want to talk, so I quietly laid on the ground beside him.

He'd come to me when he was ready.

After awhile he started up some casual conversation, but it didn't take long before the guilt got him. I'd just cracked some lame joke and he smiled, but as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared and my hormonal mood swings finally got the best of me.

"So are we gonna talk about this?" I asked and I couldn't keep all of the annoyance out of my voice. My sudden change in mood seemed to startle him and he turned to look at me curiously.

_For a guy with his own pregnant wife, you'd think he'd be used to all the mood swings by now._

He cocked one eyebrow at me questioningly and I felt another ripple of irritation roll through me.

If this baby I'm carrying comes out able to do that too, I'm going to be seriously pissed!

"Don't look at me like that we both know what I'm talking about." I told him, and he admitted as much when he suddenly looked away. "See that! Right there! Are you trying to piss me off?"

Christian rolled his eyes but didn't deny anything.

"All this sulking and moping about Christian, it's got to stop. Do you have any idea what this is doing to Lissa?" More guilt flashed across his face and I had to fight the urge to hit him. All this self loathing was really hard to swallow.

"You know you might want to work on your maternal instincts Rose. I don't think nurturing comes very naturally to you."

I never thought I'd be so relieved to be insulted, but it meant the old Christian was still in there somewhere.

"Hey I can be plenty nurturing if I want to be. It's not my fault what you need is a swift kick in the ass." I fired back grinning.

_Now this was more like it._

Christian smiled a little bigger before letting out a heavy sigh.

"I know I'm being a pain in the ass, but I just don't understand this. She raised me Rose and it's like I never even knew her!"

I wanted to say something supportive but I couldn't think of anything. I had no idea what it felt like to have everything you thought you knew about your life be a lie. My life could be a disaster at times, but I always knew what to expect from the people I loved.

"I want to move past this Rose, but I don't even know where to start." He admitted and his voice was so broken it hurt my own heart. Christian might be a sarcastic pain in the ass, but he was my pain in the ass and I hated Tasha even more now for hurting him.

I felt like I was in way over my head with this conversation, but I reached over and grabbed his hand. Physical contact was unusual for us, but he didn't pull away.

"I wish I had an answer for you Sparky, but the truth is you might never make sense of this. People are who they are and we may never get to know the reason why. Maybe there's some sort of clarity that comes with psychotic jealously." I joked but he didn't seem to appreciate it.

"Too soon?" I asked, and the look he shot me implied it was. However the soft chuckle that followed let me know that all was forgiven.

"Look no one knows better than me what it's like to get a raw deal. I mean seriously dude, I'm 22 and I've already died twice! But there's no cosmic rule that grants you immunity from life's details just because crappy things have happened to you. Life will still kick you, even if you're already down. So the trick is to find something that will anchor you, something that keeps you looking forward, even on the bad days. For me it was Lissa and Dimitri and now it's this here little baby." I told him, placing a gentle pat against my stomach.

Just mentioning Lissa and babies seemed to bring a spark of life to his eyes.

"Speaking of Lissa…how much trouble am I in?" he grimaced and I almost felt bad for the guy.

_ALMOST._

It takes a special kind of idiot to piss off his pregnant and moody wife.

"Well it won't be pretty, but I think she'll just be relieved that you're alright. However I would plan on kissing some serious ass. You're still going to be in the doghouse for this." I told him, and he laughed before giving my hand a light squeeze.

"So what now?" He asked, turning his head to look at me.

I don't know why he expected me to have all the answers. I wasn't exactly known for making great decisions.

"Well for starters, were going to get up off of this wet grass because it's all dewy and actually pretty gross." I told him, and he laughed.

"And then you're going to go home and apologize profusely to your pregnant wife and thank your lucky stars that woman married you."

Christian laughed again and the sound of it made me join in.

"That's a solid plan Obi Wan, but how about after that?" He asked, and that one I actually had to think about.

"After that, you're gonna take it day by day. You find that anchor I was talking about, and the next time you want to have a meltdown, you don't hide out in the middle of the woods like some kind of weirdo. You talk to your friends who inexplicably love your dumb ass and you remember that we're always here for you."

It wasn't the magic solution he was hoping for but it was the best I had to offer.

I wasn't thrilled about Tasha being loose either, but unlike Christian I didn't have the luxury of falling apart. There were too many people counting on me to hold it all together. I had an anxious husband who needed reassuring, and unborn baby I had to protect. Not to mention I was an official guardian to the Queen. Falling apart just didn't fit into my schedule.

In an unsurprising turn of events, Dimitri was waiting up for me when I got home.

He was sitting up in the bed, pretending to read one of his old western novel's, but really he wasn't fooling anybody. He'd been stuck on the same page for over a week now and was still too distracted to make any real progress. I had been hanging out with Christian for a little over two hours and it was the longest Dimitri had gone without keeping tabs on me since the incident.

"You didn't send out a search party." I teased as I climbed into bed beside him.

He rolled his eyes before closing his unread book and setting it down on the bedside table. Pulling me closer to his body, he used his free hand to turn off the lamp.

"You're a member of the royal guard Rose, and one that was trained by me. I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourself."

I snorted and he cocked his head to the side curiously. Adrian must have told him he needed to lay off with all the smothering.

"Don't look at me like that; you know you've been hovering." I told him giving him a pointed look.

"Maybe I just like spending time with you." He challenged with a cheeky grin.

_The man so did not play fair!_

How was I supposed to be a bitch to him when he was looking at me that way!

"Or maybe you're just an over protective husband." I challenged back, giving him a cheeky little grin of my own.

Hey, the effect we had on each other worked both ways….

"Maybe it's both." He grinned, rolling my body to hover over me.

_So…not…fair…_

"Yeah well maybe you've forgotten what a bad ass you married" I told him in a last ditch effort to have the final say. He was already tracing a trail of kisses down my neck and my whole body squirmed under his touch. This conversation was nearly over and he knew it.

"I could never forget." He murmured huskily against my skin and before I could answer he silenced me with a kiss. Anything else I might have said was lost on me after that and I surrendered myself over to the bliss that is Dimitri.

* * *

><p><strong>I thought it would be nice to see how much Rose and Christian have grown. They will always fight and bicker but deep down they really love each other. That's how it is with family. I hope you liked it!<strong>

**Don't forget to review Please : )**


	14. Chapter 14

**DPOV**

This couldn't have happened on a worse day.

I was sitting in Han's office staring at the ominous envelope in my hands and all I could think of was that today should have been a happy day.

In less than an hour, Rose and I would learn the gender of our baby, and this envelope had the power to ruin that. At least it could ruin things for me anyway. Rose wouldn't know anything about this, just like she didn't know about any of the other letters.

"It might not be any of my business Belikov, but don't you think it's about time you brought Hathaway in on this?"

The sound of Han's voice brought me back to the present.

Ever since the 'incident' as we liked to call it, Tasha had taken to sending me love letters. The first time it happened, I had found the letter by pure coincidence. Rose wasn't much for doing the tedious household chores but she'd always been good about checking the mail. If you ask me, I think it's because of those Victoria Secret catalogs she gets so excited. I swear that's the only reason she even bothers with it.

After that first letter I'd started making it a point to intercept the mail, and had even enlisted the help of a few trusted guardians to make it easier. Of course I still had to be sure and leave the rest of the mail. Rose might be lazy but she isn't stupid. If she knew about my new obsession with the mail, she would certainly figure out I was hiding something.

I knew Hans was probably right about telling Rose, but she was a bit of a loose cannon. There was no telling what she might do.

She'd been difficult enough lately and I didn't want to add more fire to the flames. As it was, we were having a hard enough time agreeing on when Rose would take her maternity leave. It was the beginning of November now and the baby was due in mid February.

Most pregnant guardians (not that there were many of them) tended to keep working well into their 8th month, but that had a lot to do with their options. It wasn't easy to find a long term replacement for a single charge, but as a member of the royal guard, Rose was in a unique position. She could take off as early as her 6th month and never even have to worry about Lissa's safety.

Of course you only had to know Rose to understand why that wasn't happening, and we'd spent a fair amount of time having that argument lately.

If Rose knew about Tasha's recent letters, she'd just use them as yet another excuse for her to stay on her guard.

"I appreciate the concern Guardian Croft, but now probably isn't the best time for that." I told him, answering his earlier suggestion.

He had a difficult time saying it, but I knew he respected Rose and like Mikhail he thought I was making the wrong decision. Of course neither of them had ever had a pregnant wife as obstinate as Rose, so they couldn't understand what I was dealing with.

For the most part Tasha's letters were harmless. She harped on and on about her feelings for me and was constantly dredging up memories of our past. Even as a Strigoi she was delusional, only now she'd become more possessive. She was angry about the life she'd been cheated out of, and now a lot of that anger fell on Christian. She blamed him for protecting Rose and vowed endlessly to make him pay.

It was the reason he was one of the few people who knew of this recent development and why we'd been working tirelessly to try and locate her. With a pregnant wife of his own to protect, he was the only one who could understand how desperate I am.

After dropping by his office with the latest letter, I tried to focus on the task at hand. Today wasn't about Tasha; it was about Rose and our baby. Everything else would have to wait.

When we reached the doctor's office, it was business as usual.

Rose had grown used to the poking and prodding and after taking her vitals, I helped her onto the exam table. The white paper crinkled underneath her weight and she groaned while trying to get comfortable.

"This is it!" she squealed excitedly.

She'd been looking forward to this appointment for weeks now.

"Any guesses?" she asked, trying to pass the time until the doctor came in.

"A boy." I blurted out, probably a little too quickly.

She cocked her head to the side with a hard look.

"And what's wrong with having a girl?" she asked, not even bothering to conceal her annoyance.

_Great, just what I needed…an angry wife._

"There's nothing wrong with having a girl." I tried to backtrack, but the damage was already done.

"You'd just prefer a boy." She stated flatly.

She was staring back at me with her face completely impassive and the sight of it sent a chill through me. I knew that look. It was the calm before the storm and I needed to do something.

"Only for my sanity Milaya!"

She tried and failed to raise one eyebrow and I knew she wanted me to elaborate.

"Roza, in theory I'd love nothing more than to have a daughter. A beautiful little girl with your dark hair and smile. I have no doubt she'd be gorgeous and have me wrapped around her finger. The problem is little girls tend to grow up. She'd develop an attitude and attend academy, and there's no way I could save up the amount of vacation days required to follow her around and keep the boys away. She'd be off at school, probably every bit as much trouble as her mother, and I'd be stuck here at court, slowly driving us both insane. Having a boy just sounds so much easier Milaya and a lot better for everyone involved."

When I was finished, Rose surprised me by laughing.

"Ha! That's so cute Comrade. You honestly think you'll still have your sanity when this kids a teenager? Look at who you are married to! I've been chipping away at your sanity since the first day we met."

_I hadn't even thought of that._

"So either way this plays out, I lose my sanity?"

"Yep." She grinned deviously.

I was still recovering from the shock of her statement when the doctor strolled in.

* * *

><p>"Well? How did it go?" Lissa asked the moment we walked through the door.<p>

She'd insisted on throwing us a gender reveal dinner party and the rest of our friends and family were on the way over.

I saw Christian poke his head around the corner from the kitchen and if he was half as excited as Lissa, they were both about to be disappointed.

"Don't ask." Rose grumbled, shoving the ultrasound photo into Lissa's hands, and with a defeated sigh she plopped down on the couch. I would have offered to help her but she was still pretty indignant about most things and insisted on doing them herself.

Lissa examined the ultrasound closely before looking up confused.

"I don't see anything."

"Yeah well take it up with this guy…or girl." Rose told her pointing harshly towards her stomach.

After all the buildup these past weeks, it seemed the baby was unwilling to cooperate.

Considering this was Rose's child, I could hardly say I was surprised.

"I'm sorry." Lissa consoled her, taking up the seat beside her on the couch. I hadn't even bothered sitting down since Christian and I had business to discuss.

Rose laid her head on Lissa's shoulder and sighed.

"I'm telling you Liss, I don't think I've been this disappointed since I found out M&M's really do melt in your hand!"

I shook my head laughing as I headed towards the kitchen.

"Did you make any progress?" I asked once Christian and I were alone.

Even with the afternoon off, I hadn't been able to sneak away. Not without making Rose suspicious anyway.

"We narrowed down a few possible locations. Han's sent a team of guardians to check them out."

This new sounded hopeful and with any luck we'd catch a break.

This weekend was the annual Diplomat's Dinner and Thanksgiving was just around the corner. It'd be nice to have this all wrapped up before the holidays.

Once the guests started arriving we didn't get a chance to discuss it further, but all throughout dinner the conversation plagued my mind.

The father along Rose got in this pregnancy; the more concerned I grew about Tasha's intentions. It had been all too quiet since the incident occurred and I didn't have a very good feeling about it.

"Maybe she lost interest." Eddie suggested, but I wasn't buying that for a second.

We were all holed up in Christians study while the women were talking baby stuff in the living room.

"Uninterested women don't send fan mail." Adrian pointed out. "Besides, you didn't see her face that night. She's not about to just let this go."

"Adrian's right." Christian grimaced. "Wow, I can't believe those words just left my mouth…"

"I know, it's pretty crazy right?" Adrian smirked.

"I'm inclined to agree with Adrian as well." Abe spoke up. "Tasha never struck me as the type to go quietly. If I had to guess, I'd say she's up to something."

"I think she's stalling." Christian suggested. "She's waiting for the opportune moment."

From a purely tactical standpoint, this made a lot of sense.

Tasha may be a skilled fighter, but she was no match for Rose. She needed something that could give her edge, and that edge was going to be Rose's pregnancy. The closer Rose got to her due date, the harder it would be for to defend herself.

"As much as it pains me to say this, Adrian's right." I agreed, and beside me Adrian chuckled and shook his head.

"Ye who have so little faith in me." He sighed.

"Has Hans heard back from any of the recon teams?" Abe asked.

"Not that I've heard of." said Christian. "But he does have his plate full with this diplomatic dinner coming up."

Every year the heads of the Royal families gather together for a summit of sorts to discuss foreign and domestic policies. It was a tradition Lissa initiated in the first year of her reign that allowed the royal families an opportunity to have their concerns heard.

"Well whatever the reason, we can't let our guard down. With the diplomatic dinner in two days we have to remain vigilant." I told them.

"If she's waiting for the right opportunity, then this dinner might serve as the perfect distraction." Abe pointed out.

"That's why we need to be ready for this. If there's one thing I learned from my time as a Strigoi it's that they possess an infinite amount of patience. Once you're immortal you've got all the time in the world."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Adrian asked.

I wasn't really sure I had an answer for him, but when my phone rang it saved me from having to make something up.

"Guardian Belikov." I answered when I saw Han's name on the screen.

"I think we may have found something…" Hans started. "And you're definitely going to want to see this."

* * *

><p><strong>Things are going to get interesting with this Diplomatic Dinner, and Dimitri's going to get a blast from his past! Any guesses who?<strong>

**Don't forget to leave a review please : ) They always make my day! **


	15. Chapter 15

**RPOV**

"I think Lissa may have gone a little bit overboard." Sydney called out over the mountain of bags she was carrying.

_For a pregnant chick, she had pretty impressive coordination._

Tomorrow was Christian's birthday and since Lissa had her hands full with the visiting Royals, Sydney and I had been relegated to the party patrol.

"I think we left overboard two stores ago. This is down right ridiculous." I called back over my own mountain of bags.

_Mental note to self: Next time Lissa sends you out for errands, take a car. _

After hours of running around court we were finally on our way back to the apartment. We had just rounded the corner when I hit a wall.

"Ouch" I heard a voice call out.

_At least I thought it was a wall…_

My grip slipped on a few of the bags I was carrying and they all went tumbling towards the ground.

"Are you okay Rose?" Sydney asked trying to peer around her bags, but my own eyes were more focused on the eerily familiar man I'd just assaulted.

I watched him pick himself up off the ground and took the moment to take in his appearance.

He seemed to be around Abe's age, maybe older with a full head of salt and pepper hair. He was dressed in a very expensive looking coat and hat but what really caught my attention was the eyes. His eyes were the most familiar shade of chocolate brown, and if I didn't know any better I'd swear I'd met him before.

"Sir I am so sorry!" I apologized as he dusted his hands off on his pants.

"Don't be silly child; I'm the one who should be apologizing." He said in a thick Russian accent. "I'm new to court and admittedly wasn't paying much attention."

He smiled before reaching down to pick up my misplaced bags.

"My apologies." He said handing back over one of the bags. He kept the other two and even unloaded a few from Sydneys hands as well.

"Thank you." Sydney replied once she was finally able to see him.

"You looked like you could use a hand." He chuckled as he started back in the direction we were heading.

Normally I was more wary about overly helpful strangers, but this guy seemed harmless and pregnant or not, I was still Rose Hathaway.

"I'm Alexander by the way."

"Rose." I replied. "And this is Sydney Ivashkov."

Alexander raised one eyebrow curiously and I felt a familiar sense of de-ja-vu.

"Ivashkov?" He asked, and I noticed Sydney suppress a sigh. She'd been through this enough times to know now that this was a pretty common reaction.

"I married into the name." she explained since it was obvious that she was human.

While Adrian and Sydney's marriage was now accepted, Moroi and Human pairings were still incredibly uncommon. Not many people had the balls to do what Adrian did.

But if Alexander found this strange, he didn't show it.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both." He said.

For the rest of the walk home we chatted away idly. As it would turn out, Alexander was a pretty personable guy. After helping us unload our haul of bags in the living room, I noticed a picture on my mantle had caught his attention.

"This is your husband?" He asked, holding a framed photo from our wedding in his hands. It was one of my favorite pictures since Lissa had actually managed to catch Dimitri smiling.

"Yep, that's Dimitri." I told him, smiling fondly at the photo in his hand. He had a peculiar expression on his face and it took me a minute to figure out what confused him.

"But you're pregnant…"

It was more of a statement than a question, but I knew what he was trying to ask.

"My best friend is a spirit user." I explained. "You'd be amazed by what that element can accomplish." I smirked, gently patting my large belly. At 6 months, I was now as round as a basketball.

"Incredible." He murmured, his eyes glued to my stomach.

When he looked back up to meet my eyes, I was still trying to place how I knew him.

"Have we met before?" I blurted out.

I couldn't remember having met the man, but with his thick Russian accent it was a possibility. I'd spent quite a bit of time there hunting Dimitri, and my mental state had been foggy enough to forget a few things. It wasn't exactly a time in my life I cared to remember.

"No, I'm quite certain I'd remember meeting someone like you." He winked.

The why did he look so damn familiar?

Alexander left shortly after that, but my questions still lingered throughout the day. I was so certain I had met him before, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out where.

But by the time dinner rolled around, he was the farthest thing from my mind. I had moved on to more pressing issues like trying to find my other shoe.

"Roza are you ready?"

Tonight was the opening events banquet before the Diplomatic Dinner on Friday.

Personally I didn't see why I had to be there, but Lissa has insisted we attend and like all things involving her highness, it was just easier to go along with it.

I knew we were running late already, but I blamed that on my missing shoe. I'd searched everything for that damn thing, but it was like it had disappeared! It was bad enough I'd had to squeeze into formal wear, but now I couldn't even find a pair of shoes!

"Rose, were going to be late!" Dimitri called out from the living room.

You'd think after 4 years of being together, he would have figured out that threat didn't scare me.

If anything it just makes me want to take longer…

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

_What the hell could she be doing in there?_

I'd been sitting on the couch for over an hour now, patiently waiting for my wife to get ready.

After years of living together I'd stopped expecting to be on time for anything. It was like she was allergic to clocks, and she was constantly running behind.

After calling out a few more times, I decided to check on the problem myself.

When I found her in the bedroom, she was sitting on the edge of the bed sobbing. On instinct I quickly rushed over to her.

"Roza Milaya, what is it?" I asked, my eyes already scanning her body for injury. A quick assessment ruled out anything physical which meant her hormones were most likely to blame.

Crouching down in front of her, I took her small delicate hands in my own.

"I'm sorry!" She sobbed as she tried to catch her breath.

_What could have gotten her so worked up?_

My mind immediately flashed on the newest letter I'd gotten today, and I panicked at the thought of Rose finding it. I hadn't seen Christian since receiving it and It was still tucked away in my duster pocket.

I was just about to start explaining when Rose stopped me. She'd finally gotten control over her sobbing enough to speak.

"I can't find my other shoe." She admitted shamefully, wiggling her bare foot for emphasis.

I was hard not to laugh, not just in relief but also at the adorable look on her face.

I gave it my best effort but a small chuckle slipped out anyway.

"This isn't funny!" she shouted, standing up to yank her hands away. "Look at me Dimitri, I'm the size of a house, and the worst part is I'm going to get bigger! I'm mood and huge and I can't find my shoe. What part of that says funny to you?"

_All of it…?_

I figured it was probably best not to say that and decided I was better off locating that shoe. It wasn't very difficult; it was hiding in plain sight.

When I held up the shoe for Rose to see she turned pink.

"Sit down." I ordered before sliding the shoe into place. "If it was a snake it would have bit you." I teased, helping her rise to her feet.

She looked back up at me with a sheepish smile.

"I blame you for this." She told me, gesturing in her general direction. "It's your baby causing all these hormones you know."

Chuckling softly I pulled her closer for a kiss.

The soft fabric of her dress felt like heaven under my hands and the adorable purple headband she was wearing matched her dress perfectly. As tenderly as possible, I enveloped her in a kiss and by the time I pulled away she was breathless.

"Moody as you may be, you are always the most beautiful woman in the room."

She glared at me playfully before smiling.

"Flattery will get you nowhere Comrade."

I pressed my lips to hers once more before chuckling.

"Now can we go?" I asked, and her smile suddenly turned devious.

"Yep. Just as soon as I fix my makeup."

And with a heavy groan, I sank backwards onto the bed.

* * *

><p>20 minutes later she was finally ready.<p>

"I was starting to think you weren't coming!" Lissa scolded. "What took you so long?"

"Shoe trouble." Rose groaned and I saw Lissa open her mouth.

"Don't ask." I shook my head, and thankfully Lissa got the hint.

"Sydney has 'shoe trouble' all the time." Adrian smirked and it earned him a slap in the chest. "Hey, what was that for?" he groaned, rubbing the sport where Rose had just hit him.

Everyone else at the table just laughed.

"You broke one of the unspoken rules." Rose shrugged, taking a sip of her water.

"And what exactly would these rules be?" Christian asked, and I noticed all the other guys had leaned forward to listen.

If we were going to survive these pregnancies, we needed every advantage we could get.

"Rule #1 never mock us. Rule #2 never comment on our weight. And Rule #3, the most important rule of all; never and I mean never come between us and our food."

"Speaking of food." Sydney spoke up as she eyed the now assembled dessert table.

"I like the way your mind thinks." Rose grinned as she started to rise from the table. Sydney followed behind her and Lissa was hot on their trail.

"I'm not sure were going to survive this…" Christian joked and I shook my head laughing.

"Speak for yourself Dude. Sydney's only got one more week and then I'm home free." Adrian smirked.

Lucky bastard.

I loved Rose unconditionally but these mood swings were exhausting.

As a guest of the dinner tonight I wasn't technically on duty, but years of training had conditioned me to always be suspicious. Even with the other guardians on duty I couldn't keep my eyes from scanning the room. After making the perimeter once my eyes returned to Rose and that was when I saw him.

It had been 15 years but I would have recognized him anywhere.

Aside from the gray in his hair, he looked just like remembered and I watched in horror as Rose chatted away with my father.

* * *

><p><strong>Time to get some of Dimitri's back story! What do you think will happen now that his father is back in his life?<strong>

**Don't forget to leave a nice review! : ) **


	16. Chapter 16

**RPOV**

I didn't understand what was happening.

One minute I'm talking to Alexander at the dessert table and the next minute, Dimitri's got him on the ground.

Not only had he laid the poor guy out, but he'd taken it one step further by continuing to hit him while he was down. It took 6 other guardians to pull Dimitri off the guy, and even then they had trouble restraining him.

"Dimitri, what the hell!" I shouted, setting down my dessert plate down to help Alexander.

The old man was tough, I'd give him that. With the amount of force Dimitri had used to hit him, I was surprised he was even conscious.

He was still struggling to get up right when I extended out my arm to help him.

Dimitri still hadn't answered me, and I couldn't for the life of me understand what got into him. He has more self-control than anyone I know, and an attack like this was so out of character!

Especially unprovoked.

Once I had Alexander standing upright I turned to glare at my husband.

He was staring at Alexander with a look of pure hatred and just the sight of it sent chills through my body. I'd only ever seen that look a handful of times in my life, and nothing good had ever come from it.

From the corner of my eye I noticed a crowd was forming and Lissa was frantically checking Alexander for injuries.

"Are you alright Prince Badica?" she asked as he wiped a spot of blood from his lip.

Along with a swollen jaw, I was pretty sure his nose was broken and I could already see the black eyes that were forming. His face was a mess.

"I'm alright." He told her, spitting a little more blood out of his mouth.

Turning my attention back to Dimitri, I noticed his hands were still shaking. He was looking at Alexander with unmistakable rage, and the guardians who were restraining him looked nervous.

"Dimitri Alexander Belikov!" I started chastising, but the second the words were out of my mouth, it hit me.

_Alexander._

The name.

The familiar brown eyes.

The thick Russian accent.

And the way Dimitri reacted to seeing him.

My head shot back and forth between the two men, and it was like I was seeing him for the first time. Suddenly all of their similarities seemed so clear to me.

_How could I have been so blind?_

"Dimitri?" I called out to him.

This time I spoke softly.

The way he looked right now reminded me of that night in the alley. We were on the run and he hadn't been restored long, but I'll never forget how broken he seemed.

His eyes were fixated on Alexander, and the rest of the room was watching him warily. After the day he'd protected me in the coffee shop, people had seen what he was capable of.

I hated the way the royals were looking at him right now; like he was some kind of monster who could snap any second.

I knew I had to do something.

Taking another step forward, I cupped Dimitri's face in my hands. He was reluctant to tear his gaze away, but the moment his eyes met mine, his face softened.

"Alexander is your father, isn't he?" I asked.

Dimitri closed his eyes and leaned his face into my hand. Looking at Alexander, I saw the confirmation in his eyes.

"Hello Son." He spoke up and Dimitri's eyes flew open.

"Don't call me that." he hissed, spinning around to face him. "You are no father to me."

Without warning, he yanked himself out of my grasp and briskly stalked out of the ballroom.

I looked around the ballroom at the faces of our frantic friends, and I quickly followed Dimitri out.

The walk back to our apartment was a quiet one, but it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking.

He was embarrassed and ashamed of himself for the way he'd reacted tonight. He was a man who prided himself on having self-control, and he'd let his anger get the best of him.

Sensing he wasn't ready to talk about it, I didn't push him for any details. He needed time to work this out in his mind and he would come to me when he was ready.

I had just finished putting on my pajamas when he came to join me in the bedroom.

"We should probably talk about what happened." He suggested, leaning casually against the door frame.

I only had to look at him to see he'd regained control over his emotions.

Nodding, he came to join me on the bed.

"Did I scare you?" He asked hesitantly.

He knew it was difficult for me when he lost control like that. It reminded me too much of Strigoi Dimitri.

"What happened back there?" I asked.

I deliberately dodged his first question knowing the truth would only make him feel more guilty.

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "I just got so angry. I wasn't prepared to see him, and when I saw you talking together, I just snapped."

"You don't have to apologize Dimitri. Given your history, I understand."

Dimitri's childhood had left a mark on him I wasn't sure he could ever erase.

"So Alexander's the man that helped you and Sydney today?"

I had mentioned our encounter to him earlier.

"Yes, but I had no idea he was your father! Although looking back now, I should have seen it."

Their similarities were quite striking.

"He seemed like such a nice guy at the time." I told him, but his expression had me backtracking.

"There is nothing nice about that man Rose. Promise me you'll stay away from him."

He was using his mentor voice which would normally bother me, but after the night he'd had, I let it pass.

"Okay." I agreed, and I wanted to laugh when Dimitri looked at me. His face could only be described as perplexed.

"Okay?" He asked. "Just like that? Don't you even want to put up a fight first?"

I was true, I did enjoy being difficult, but that was usually over trivial things. This was something a bit more serious.

"Do you want me to put up a fight?" I asked sly, and Dimitri just rolled his eyes.

"Of course not." He told me. "But since when do you ever let that stop you?"

"Hey!" I cried, feigning hurt. "I am perfectly capable of being reasonable."

Dimitri eyed me speculatively for a few seconds before smiling.

"Yes you can be…but you usually aren't." He pointed out.

With an amused chuckle, I laid my head to rest on his broad shoulder.

"That's true. But for you…I'll make an exception."

Dimitri let out a soft chuckle of his own before pressing a tender kiss to my temple.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He asked as he made his way over to the bathroom.

"Yup." I smiled brightly. "But I never get tired of hearing it."

I could still hear him laughing when he closed the bathroom door.

* * *

><p>When I woke up the next morning, I had every intention of keeping my promise to Dimitri.<p>

Unfortunately for me, fate had other plans.

I had just finished my morning workout with Serena when I found him waiting for me outside the gym. He was wearing the same expensive coat I saw him in yesterday, only now he was sporting two black eyes. He looked up when he saw me walking his way.

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested." I told him before he could open his mouth to speak.

"You haven't even heard what I have to say." He argued.

"That's because I'm not interested." I told him, walking past.

Unfortunately for me he didn't let that deter him.

"I understand why you are so angry Rose." He called out from behind me, and despite my promise to Dimitri I swung around to face him.

"Your damn right I'm angry!" I shouted back at him. "I let you into my house! I was kind to the man that destroyed my husband's family! And then you just show up here unannounced, pretending like you don't know who we are. Tell me something, did you run into me on purpose yesterday just so you could get close to Dimitri?"

Alexander flinched back from the harshness in my tone.

"Of course not Rose. When I offered to help you yesterday, I had no idea who you were. It wasn't until I saw the picture in your living room that I realized it."

"Even if that's true, why wouldn't you say anything?" I challenged.

"I didn't know how!" Alexander pleaded. "I hadn't seen my son in 15 years and suddenly I was standing in his living room with his pregnant wife. I could only imagine what you've heard about me."

"I heard you were a bastard, and that's all I needed to know." I told him, turning around to walk away.

"Please Rose, if you could just calm down and let me explain."

_Seriously?_

Why is it that men don't understand, telling a pissed off woman to calm down is like throwing gasoline on a flame.

"I don't want to calm down, and I don't you to explain!" I shouted. I knew I was probably making a scene, but what did I care?

"I know the awful things you did to Olena and I have no interest in hearing you make excuses for them."

I saw what looked like remorse flash across his features before he regained control over his emotions.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life Rose, but I'm not the same man I used to be. All I am asking for is a chance to prove that, both to you and my son. I was a terrible father, but that doesn't mean I have to be a terrible grandfather."

_Was he kidding me!_

"Absolutely not!" I shouted, my fists balled up in anger. "Dimitri and I don't want you anywhere near our baby! And for the record, you're already a terrible grandfather if you didn't even know you have more grandchildren."

Judging by the level of shock on his face, I was certain he didn't know.

"That's what I thought." I scoffed before turning on my heels to leave.

But before I could go, I spared one more glance behind me. He was still rooted in place, staring at his feet on the ground.

"I don't know what you're doing at court Alexander, but if you came to make up with Dimitri, you're wasting your time. He's been getting along just fine without for all these years, he doesn't need you showing up now. If I were you, I'd listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once. I would crush you like a bug before I let you cause Dimitri one more moment of pain. Royal Moroi or not, you'd be wise to believe that, and to fear it, because I never make a promise I can't keep."

And I'd never been more serious in my life.

There was nothing I could do about the damage he'd caused years ago, but I'd be damned if I was going to let him do it again now.

* * *

><p><strong>So Dimitri's dad is back, but do we really think he is a changed man? <strong>

**Review's Please : )**


	17. Chapter 17

**DPOV**

When it rains it pours.

That's what my mother always said.

She also said bad things tend to happen in sets of three.

Between Tasha's escape and my father showing up, I wasn't sure how much worse it could get.

After nearly beating my father to a pulp last night, even I had to admit I over reacted. I think a lot of it had to do with my phone call from Hans the night before. I had a lot of misplaced anger right now and no good place to put it.

At least that was until Alexander showed up.

It turns out one of the recon teams Han's sent out had discovered some disturbing information. At one of the locations they'd raided, they'd uncovered a plethora of information, all relating to this week's events.

If Tasha was in league with other Strigoi now, it would make sense for them to target this event. There were dozens of Royals in town visiting and it was the perfect opportunity to strike.

Between that news and my father's reappearance, it wasn't any surprise sleep evaded me. I spent most of the night lying awake, just trying to make sense of it all.

The threat of an attack alone was troublesome, but what really bothered me was how they obtained this information. Security protocols were changed out weekly for safety reasons, and yet all of their Intel was recent.

They had schedules and blueprints, along with detailed layouts of court, and they only way that was possible was if there was a leak. Someone here at court was feeding Tasha the information she needed, now we just needed to figure out who and why.

After running out on dinner last night, I hadn't had a chance to speak with Christian privately. Tasha's most recent letter was burning a hole in my coat pocket and I needed to get it as far away from Rose as possible. The last thing I needed right now was for her to find out about these letters. She had enough to worry about as it is.

I was still mulling this all over in my mind when the phone startled me. I couldn't imagine was who calling this early, and Rose started to groan in the bed bedside me.

"Make it stop." She whined as she shoved me off of the bed.

I quickly crossed the bedroom to retrieve the phone from my dresser.

"Isn't it a little early for social calls." I asked when I saw that it was Adrian.

"Yeah well take it up with Hans." He grumbled. "He wants us to meet in my office in 15."

_Why would Hans want us to meet in Adrian's office?_

"I'm on my way." I told him before hanging up the phone.

After throwing on a pair of pants and a t shirt, I grabbed my keys and headed out.

When I got to Adrian's office I found Christian and Abe waiting as well.

"What's this all about?" Abe asked looking at me, but I didn't have any answers. I was just as clueless as he was.

Just then Hans's showed up.

"I'm sorry to drag you all out of bed so early, but this needed to be done before business hours."

Once we were all settled in Adrian's office he started explaining.

"After my team retrieved that Intel the other night, I had them get to work on trying to trace it. We were able to crack the encryption on some of those hard drives and it appears the mole came from somewhere in this building."

"What?" Adrian asked confused. "The only people working in this building with that kind of access are on my team and most of them are spirit users."

Hans gave Adrian a pointed look.

"That would explain it." Christian mumbled catching everyone else's attention. Once he realized all eyes were on him, he sighed. "I've been trying to figure out for weeks now how Tasha was able to escape. The guards down in the court prison weren't paid off; they all claimed it was compulsion. The problem is no one can remember anything, and Tasha wasn't strong enough to compel on such a high level. If it was a spirit user that helped her, that would make a lot more sense. No one's better at compulsion then them."

It was true. I had seen Lissa and Adrian's work first hand.

"So if the mole is in this department, how do we go about flushing them out?" Abe asked.

I could understand now why Han's called us in here so early. We needed the files in Adrian's office, and if anyone in the building started to suspect we were on to something, they could try to throw us off their tracks.

"I don't know." Han's admitted. "But whatever we do, we need to do it fast. The Diplomatic Dinner is tonight and we need to be prepared for anything."

Adrian sighed loudly before sinking back into his chair.

"Well I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to need a lot more coffee."

* * *

><p>After sending Han's out on a coffee run, we all made ourselves comfortable in the office. Adrian pulled the files of every spirit user on his team and we all took a pile to investigate.<p>

For a long time we worked in companionable silence before Adrian let out a dramatic sigh.

"Okay, I know we've all got a lot on our plates right now, but are we seriously going to act like Belikov didn't Hulk out at dinner last night?"

Abe started choking on the coffee he was drinking and Christian burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry dude." He tried to recover, but all eyes were on me now.

"While I do believe Ivashkov here could have taken a more subtle approach to this, there is no denying that were all curious. What exactly was it that happened last night?" Abe asked.

I knew that this was coming, but that didn't mean I wanted to talk about it.

"I think we have more important things to worry about." I told them, trying to deflect the conversation.

They all continued to stare at me impatiently, but when I returned my attention towards the files in my hands, they got the hint.

Clearly this conversation wasn't up for discussion.

It was nearly lunchtime and we still hadn't made any progress. There were plenty of spirit users, but none with the right motivation. I was just about to suggest we take a break when the door opened.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Nina apologized. "I didn't realize you had company."

I didn't know Nina very well, but I knew she was a friend of Adrian's. She was a spirit user who had helped restore her own sister a few years back and she spent a lot of time with Adrian when Sydney had gone missing.

"No problem." Adrian smiled. "Did you need something?"

Nina looked around at all the faces in the room nervously. I saw her eyes fall on the stacks of files we were studying and her eyes widened.

"No, that's okay. I'll just come back later." She told him before scurrying out of the room.

"Well that was odd…"

Abe said what we were all thinking.

"Yeah, she's usually not that jumpy." Adrian commented, looking at the door she'd just exited. "I wonder what got into her."

I was just about to ask him about it when Sydney waddled in. Her due date was in less than a week and it showed.

"What are you doing here?" Adrian asked rushing over to her. "You should be resting!"

Watching him kiss Sydney sweetly reminded me of Rose, and how we hadn't had a proper goodbye this morning. After the way I had behaved at dinner last night, I had been hoping I'd get a chance to make it up to her. There was nothing that made Rose happier than breakfast in bed.

Unfortunately for me, Adrian's call had canceled those plans.

"Oh would you relax already." Sydney groaned rolling her eyes. "I'm pregnant, not dying. Besides even the doctor said a little exercise was a good idea."

Adrian still didn't seem convinced but he let it slide.

"Fine, you win. Just take it easy will ya? We still have to attend that dinner tonight."

Sydney didn't look to happy about the reminder or the unsolicited advice. I briefly wondered if that's how Rose looked when I was fussing over her. If so, I'd definitely need to start cutting back…

"Okay Dad" she teased. "Anyway, I was just on my way to meet Lissa and Rose for lunch so I thought I would stop by. Apparently you guys are a little busy though." She smiled, looking around his cluttered office.

"Never too busy for you." He winked, pulling her closer for a kiss.

I waited patiently for Sydney's visit to end, but the moment the door closed behind her I spoke up.

"How come you didn't include Nina's file in our research?"

It wasn't until we saw her that I realized we hadn't considered her.

Three heads turned in my direction simultaneously.

"Why would I?" Adrian asked. "Nina's my friend. She'd never do something like this."

"I once said the same thing about Natasha…" I told him, trying hard not to look at Christian.

Remembering Tasha as she was, was always difficult for him. It only reminded him of how far she had fallen.

"But she doesn't even have a motive!" Adrian continued to argue.

Apparently he hadn't noticed the way she was looking at him before.

Rose always liked to tease me about how clueless men could be, and apparently she was right.

"You don't think her affections for you are motive enough?" Abe asked.

_At least I wasn't the only one who had noticed._

"It wouldn't be the first time a chick went rogue over unrequited love." Christian added shooting me a sideways glance.

Adrian looked around the room at all of us curiously.

"What makes you think she even has feelings for me?" He asked.

"The fact that we have eyes." Christian told him, rolling his own.

"But I'm a married man!" Adrian exclaimed. "With an extremely pregnant wife in case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah well that's the kind of thing a crazy chick is willing to overlook." Christian told him and Adrian turned to stare at him incredulously.

"You guys have got it all wrong." Adrian said shaking her head. "And were wasting our time arguing about this. Nina isn't the mole. She doesn't even work in this building. She just comes by here to hang out sometimes."

Just because she didn't work here, didn't mean she didn't have access to anything. She'd proved as much when she showed up here today. If Adrian was as oblivious to her feelings as he seemed, who knows how many time's she had used that to her advantage.

Adrian may not believe Nina was the one responsible for all this, but my gut was telling me otherwise. The only question now was how do I prove it?

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown POV<strong>

Being unnoticeable had its advantages.

For weeks now I'd been able to move around court unseen. No one ever bothered to pay any attention to me, so no one had a clue what I was up to.

Compelling those guards to release Tasha had been almost too easy, and in exchange I would finally get the one thing I'd always wanted.

The thing that I deserved.

Don't get me wrong, I was a good person. I had always tried to do the right thing, but what had that ever gotten me?

Certainly not the affection of the man I loved.

It was like he didn't even see me.

But all that was about to change, I just needed to get through tonight.

Up until now things had been moving along flawlessly, but they just couldn't leave things well enough alone. They just hard to start sniffing around and poking their noses in things that weren't any of their business.

I couldn't let them ruin our plans now, not when we were this close.

But I needed help.

Reaching for the phone, I dialed the only number I could think of.

"Hey…it's me." I told her. "I think we have a problem."

* * *

><p><strong>There it is, the prelude to a disaster! Do you think Dimitri's right about the mole? Bad things do tend to happen in sets of three... And with the dinner tonight, I think were in for some trouble...<strong>

**Reviews Please : )**


	18. Chapter 18

**RPOV**

"Liss you're killing me!" I groaned leaning against the bedroom door.

The diplomatic dinner was in less than an hour and she'd already changed her outfit three times.

"That's easy for you to say!" Lissa said, flinging the closet door open. "Your outfit doesn't make you look like a whale!"

I gave her a pointed look as I glanced down at my overgrown stomach.

Lissa looked back up at me with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry Rose. I guess I'm not handling this weight change very well. I thought I couldn't wait to start showing, but it turns out I just feel fat."

Lissa wasn't due until April so she'd only recently started to show.

To be fair she really was in that awkward stage of pregnancy. It's the place where you're no longer skinny, but you don't look pregnant yet either.

_Man I hated that stage._

"I'm so bloated and gassy, I feel like a flotation device." Lissa sighed, slumping down onto her bed.

I crossed the small space in her bedroom to sit beside her.

"I know this sucks Liss, but I promise it gets better. And just for the record, you don't look anything like a whale."

"Did somebody say whale?" Sydney smirked as she waddled into the room. She was wearing an elegant red evening gown and she was positively glowing.

"Ha ha." I told her dryly, walking over to help her sit down.

That baby was ready to drop any second and I was surprised she was even attending tonight.

"Nobody here looks like a whale." I told them both sternly.

Unlike the two of them, I was actually on duty tonight which meant I got to rock my guardian attire. Nothing says slimming like an all-black pantsuit.

"Has anyone heard from the boys today?" Lissa asked as she started slipping on her jewelry. She'd finally decided on a dress to wear which meant we were one step closer to getting out of here.

Now that Lissa mentioned it, I hadn't heard from Dimitri all day. After receiving some cryptic call this morning, he'd been MIA ever since.

"I saw them around lunchtime." Sydney told us. "They were still in Adrian's office. I couldn't tell what they were working on, but whatever it was, it seemed important."

Dimitri thinks he's so slick.

He's been up to his neck in something with Christian lately; I just haven't had a chance to figure out what.

I would have been annoyed by all the secrecy if it hadn't been keeping him out of my hair. He'd been so busy with whatever it is their working on that he'd seriously cut back on all the hovering.

"Well whatever their doing, they better have it wrapped up in time. I know how much Christian hates these things, but he promised me he'd be there." Lissa said.

I had to stifle a laugh when she mentioned it.

Christian really did hate these functions and even after 4 years together, he still tried to weasel his way out of them. He didn't care much for the company or for being the Queens 'eye candy'."

His words, not mine!

"Speaking of people who might be there." Sydney hinted and I knew exactly what she was getting at.

After my run in with Alexander this morning, I had filled them in on all the juicy details.

Like anyone that met Olena Belikova, they both loved her, so it goes without saying they didn't think much of him. But as it turns out, Lissa had a couple of juicy details about him herself.

Apparently he'd had some scandalous falling out with his father several years back, and his family had pretty much disowned him. He'd spent years living off of the Royal grid but when his father passed away, he was brought back into the fold. He was an only child, so the head of family position fell to him.

It was the reason we'd never seen him around court before, and the only reason he'd showed up here now. He was simply in town for the summit.

Once I heard that news, I felt a little guilty about this morning...

That being said, the man did beat up my mother in law and ruin Dimitri's childhood, so naturally the guilt didn't last long.

"I am perfectly capable of acting professional around Dimitri's father." I reassured them. "Just so long as the bastard stays out of my way." I added smugly.

Sydney laughed and Lissa rolled her eyes.

"Something tells me we are in for a very long night."

Lissa had no idea just how right she would be.

* * *

><p>The evening started out the way it usually does, with boring speeches from stuffy old royals. After that they moved on to serving the nearly inedible food.<p>

I honestly didn't know how Lissa could endure this every day. I had a hard enough time faking when I was on duty, and even then no one really cared if I was listening.

Poor Lissa however had to pretend to give a crap.

Now to be fair, not all royals are awful. My friends were proof of that.

But then there were the kind like Adrian's father. Just listening to them talk made me wish a Strigoi would fall out of the sky and put us all out of our misery.

They were the ones that gave Royals a bad name. And unfortunately, there was a lot more of them here tonight.

Normally I could pass the time by ogling my sexy husband, but we were an hour into this dinner and there was still no sign of him.

"If I had known Adrian was going to blow this thing off, I would have stayed at home in my sweats." Sydney complained.

You could hardly blame the girl. At this stage in her pregnancy, just getting out of bed required effort.

As I stood there listening to Sydney talk, I started to feel uneasy.

Adrian wasn't the type to blow Sydney off, especially so close to her due date. He'd been worse than Dimitri lately with all the hovering, and he barely let her out of his sight.

I was just about to suggest we try calling them again when I caught sight of Dimitri's guarding partner across the room. Maybe he had some answers for me.

"Hey Damien!" I called out, walking over to greet him. "Have you seen Dimitri lately?"

"Not since this afternoon." He told me. "He was looking into something with the other two stooges." He chuckled. "He told me we'd meet up here."

Most people found Dimitri's close relationship with two Royals unusual, but luckily Damien wasn't one of them. He actually enjoyed watching the three of them bicker. It was a great source of entertainment.

"Where was the last place you saw them?" I asked.

Damien only had to think about it for a second.

"In Christian's office...But that was a few hours ago."

_Shit._

"Ok thanks." I told him before heading back to Sydney.

I couldn't place the reason for my unease, but the feeling was getting stronger.

"Well?" Sydney asked after I'd walked back to her side.

"Last place he saw them was Christian's office." I told her. "So I think I'll run by there to check it out."

Sydney must have been able to read the worry on my face because she grabbed my arm to stop me. When I turned back around to look at her, her eyes widened.

"You think something's wrong don't you?" She asked.

I didn't want to worry her but I wouldn't lie either.

"It's probably nothing." I reassured her. "But I'll feel better when Dimitri tells me that himself."

I could see her studying me and she must not have liked what she found.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you." She said sternly. I could have argued with her, but I didn't see the point. Sydney was like me in that way. Once she set her mind to something, there was no changing it.

Besides, the longer we stood here arguing, the more time we wasted.

"Fine." I agreed. "But you follow my lead."

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Adrian hissed as he paced around the cell we were locked in.

I still didn't know how we'd ended up in this position. One minute we were luring Nina into our own trap, and the next thing I knew, we had woken up in the court prison, with no recollection as to how we got here.

"And I told you your friend was guilty!" I shot back, while trying to construct a lock pick out of a paper clip.

I couldn't remember why the hell I had one in my jacket pocket, but right now I wasn't going to question it.

Despite all his earlier protests, there was no denying Nina's role in this now. Not after she lured us here and got the jump on us.

How the hell had she even done that? I wondered.

But it didn't matter now.

Whatever her plan had been, it worked and while we were stuck rotting away in the deserted court prison, she was probably with Tasha right now.

"Who cares who was right or wrong?" Christian shouted. "The only thing we should be focusing on right now is getting out of here."

"It just doesn't make any sense." Adrian sighed, slumping down against the wall. "I thought Nina was my friend. I trusted her. She wanted to restore Strigoi, not help them!"

I recognized the pain and confusion in his voice. I had felt the same way when I learned about Tasha.

"Yeah yeah, she fooled us all. Do you think we could maybe save the pity party for after we get out of this mess?" Christian asked.

There was no mistaking the amount of irritation in his tone.

"In case you've both forgotten we've got a couple of pregnant wives out there who are the targets of a couple of psychopaths! We don't have time to just sit here feeling sorry for ourselves."

And as if right on cue with Christian's words, I heard the unmistakable sound of the courts warning bells.

It was an ominous sound that could only mean one thing: Strigoi had breached the court.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

When we reached Christian's office, there was no sign of them.

The lights were off and the doors were closed, but we decided to take a peek inside anyway. Maybe they'd left behind a clue.

Once the lights were on we were able to start looking, but even that didn't make it any easier. Christian wasn't exactly known for his organizational skills and there were papers strewn across every surface. I didn't even know where to start.

I was busy leafing through a large stack of papers when Sydney called for me.

"Hey Rose…" she said hesitantly. "Did you know about this?"

"Know about what?" I asked and she held up a manila envelope.

"It's full of letters for Dimitri… and they're from Tasha." She said warily.

_That son of a bitch._

So that's what him and Christian have been hiding from me. The reason for all their secrecy.

After skimming through the letters, I seriously wanted to hit something.

What was wrong with him! What right did he have to keep this from me? We were supposed to be a team! And if the last 4 years had taught me anything, it's that we always work best when we work together. How long was it going to take for him to realize that?

"Are you okay?" Sydney asked, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I hadn't even noticed I was crying until she wiped a tear away.

_Stupid hormones._

"Why would he keep this from me?" I asked, turning to glare at her.

Sydney looked at me with sympathy and smiled.

"I think you already know the answer to that." She told me.

And she was right.

He was going about it in all the wrong ways, but his intentions remained the same. He was trying to protect me. And as frustrating as it was, I loved him for that.

I was just about to admit she was right when I picked up a commotion through my ear piece.

"BURIA!" One of the guardians shouted and my heart stopped beating in it's tracks. A few seconds later I heard the warning bells blaring and I knew that court had been breached.

LISSA!

What was I thinking leaving her unprotected?

Okay maybe unprotected was an exaggeration considering she had a team of guardians at her disposal. But none of them could protect her like I can. I had to get back there right away.

I was just about to grab Sydney's arm and make a run for it when her voice stopped me.

"Rose." She called out in a voice as soft as a whisper. Something about her tone instantly made me nervous and the moment I turned around I knew why.

She looked up at me with fear and panic in her eyes.

"Rose…I think my water just broke."

* * *

><p><strong>And the trouble begins! There are Strigoi at court, the guys are missing and Sydney's in labor!<strong>

**Reviews Please : )**


	19. Chapter 19

**Previously in After the Sacrifice...**

_"BURIA!" One of the guardians shouted and my heart stopped beating in it's tracks. A few seconds later I heard the warning bells blaring and I knew that court had been breached._

_LISSA!_

_What was I thinking leaving her unprotected?_

_Okay maybe unprotected was an exaggeration considering she had a team of guardians at her disposal. But none of them could protect her like I can. I had to get back there right away._

_I was just about to grab Sydney's arm and make a run for it when her voice stopped me._

_"Rose." She called out in a voice as soft as a whisper. Something about her tone instantly made me nervous and the moment I turned around I knew why._

_She looked up at me with fear and panic in her eyes._

_"Rose…I think my water just broke."_

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

I was hardly a stranger of multi-dimensional disasters, but this was a lot, even by my standards.

"Now would be a really great time to say something!" Sydney cried while clutching at her stomach.

But I just couldn't seem to make my lips move.

My husband and his two best friends were missing.

One of my own best friends was currently in labor.

And to top it all off, we were under attack.

Did I miss anything?

I knew Sydney was waiting for me to say or do something, but honestly, I didn't know where to start.

Thankfully someone made that decision for me.

Through the static of my ear piece, I heard the best news I could hope for.

"We have the Queen in a safe room. All available units return to the main ballroom." Hans barked.

I breathed a sigh of relief at knowing Lissa was okay, and with that crisis behind me, I was able to focus on Sydney.

There were several safe rooms scattered throughout court, and I needed to find the closet one and get Sydney there. Giving birth in a bunker wasn't exactly ideal, but for now it was our only option.

After finally being able to shake off my stupor, I rushed over to Sydney's side. She was leaning against Christian's desk for support and had her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach.

"Hey" I told her, grabbing one of her hands with mine. "It's ok. Everything's going to be okay."

Her eyes were still wide with terror and I could see she was on the brink of hysteria.

"I'm not ready!" she cried as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

It wasn't like Sydney to lose her cool and she never went into anything unprepared. She was a planner, and I knew she had planned for this.

Pulling her into a tight hug, I held her as close as our stomachs would allow.

"I know that you're scared right now, but Sydney you can do this."

She shook her head back and forth frantically.

"I can't Rose. Not without Adrian! I just can't!"

Seeing her fall apart like this told me just how scared she was.

"You can do this!" I told her sternly, pulling back to meet her gaze. "Were going to do it together. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. To you or the baby." I reassured her. "You've just got to trust me. Do you trust me?" I asked.

She gave me a weak nod and I offered her the most confident smile I could muster.

"Okay then." I smiled brightly.

I wasn't as optimistic as I sounded, but I knew Sydney needed me to be.

"Then let's go have ourselves a baby."

We'd barely made it out of the office doors when I saw him.

"Thank God!" Damien sighed, running over to our side.

"What are you doing here" I asked him perplexed.

_How did he even know where to find us?_

"I was looking for you when the chaos broke out. When I couldn't find you, I thought about our conversation and I figured you might have come here." He explained.

"Is she okay?" He asked eyeing Sydney nervously.

She was hunched over in pain as another contraction ripped through her.

"She's in labor." I told him and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Holy shit! We need to get her to a safe room!" he said, pointing out the obvious.

_Well no shit Sherlock._

If I hadn't been so stressed out, I would have told him as much. But the rational part of my brain reminded me that he was only trying to help. He was Dimitri's friend and he was trying to look out for me.

_Not that I needed anyone's help…_

"Come on. The closest one is in the library." He told me as he started to lead the way.

Grabbing Sydney's arm I let her lean on me for support. I wasn't easy trying to focus on so many things at once, but I kept listening through my ear piece for any updates.

The main ballroom was still a battle ground and I didn't hear any signs that it was stopping. Wherever Dimitri was right now, I just hoped he was okay.

It was only because I was so distracted that it took walking into the library to remember something.

There was no safe room in the library.

"Wait a second." I called out, pulling Sydney a halt.

But it was too late.

Once the doors slammed shut behind us, we were trapped. Two figures stepped out from behind a bookcase and I lost it.

"You set us up?" I screeched, spinning around to glare at Damien.

If I could have killed someone with my mind right now, it would have been him.

"How could you do this to us? Dimitri trusted you!" I continued screaming, and then another awful thought came to me. "Did you do something to Dimitri?!"

He turned away from my accusing stare and at least had the decency to look guilty.

_Not that him growing a conscious would help us now. _

"I'm sorry Rose, but it had to be this way." He sighed, pleading with me to understand.

"Don't apologize to her!" Tasha snapped as she closed the distance between them.

I watched his expression carefully and was horrified by what I found. The way he was looking at Tasha made his motives clear.

He was in love with her.

His eyes took in her every move worshipfully, and once she was standing in front of him, she smiled sweetly. There was something off about that smile, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. She reached up to trail her fingers through his hair and then tenderly back down to his neck before she snapped it. When his lifeless body hit the floor, his eyes were still open.

Behind me I heard Sydney gasp and it reminded me she was there. Tasha was a lot closer to us than I would have liked and I took up a defensive stance in front of her.

Tasha was smiling at me like the Cheshire cat and I was having a hard time not wanting to rip her face off. Especially after reading the sick letters she sent Dimitri.

But she wasn't the only threat in the room, and I couldn't leave Sydney open to an attack.

Speaking of other threats, I turned my attention towards Nina.

"And what's your role in all this?" I asked.

Honestly I couldn't care less about her motives, but I needed to buy us some time.

Hey, it always worked in the movies! The villain's love a good monologue.

"I did what I had to." She said flatly. "It's nothing personal."

_What?_

"That's funny." I snorted. "Because where I come from, we take murder pretty personal."

She stared back at my blankly so I tried a different approach.

"Well I just hope you're more valuable than the last guy." I told her, shooting a meaningful glance at Damien's body. "You've seen how easily you can be dispatched.

Her eyes suddenly hardened and I knew I'd hit on something.

"It's not the same thing!" Nina defended herself. "Damien was a fool to believe that Tasha could ever want him, not while Dimitri's still breathing. He's the idiot who believed she just wanted her revenge. What I want however, Tasha has no problem giving me."

"And what is that?" I asked.

But I was pretty sure I knew her motivation. I'd seen the warning signs, even if Adrian hadn't.

I swear men I don't know how men can be so clueless!

"I want Adrian back, the way things were before he married this one." She spat looking at Sydney. "And once Tasha holds up her end of the deal, I'll have him."

Behind me I heard Sydney growl and I quickly shot her a warning look.

Clearly we were dealing with some pretty unstable individuals. If we wanted to make it out of here in one piece, we needed to tread lightly.

"Speaking of our deal." Nina trailed off nodding her head in Sydney's direction.

She was looking at Tasha like she was expecting something, and I don't think it was for Tasha to laugh.

But that's exactly what she did.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Tasha chuckled. "Go and get her." She continued gesturing towards Sydney.

"What am I waiting for? What are you waiting for? You said you would take care of this!" she shouted, her face turning bright red. "That was the plan!"

But Tasha just shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"Yeah well plans change."

Nina glared back at Tasha with a murderous expression on her face.

"I can't get past Rose!" Nina shrieked. "She'll never let me get anywhere near her!"

"Probably not." Tasha smiled sweetly. "But you're more than welcome to try."

Nina just stood there frozen like she couldn't believe this.

What did she expect making deals with Strigoi? They were soulless monsters who only lived to serve their own needs. She didn't care about Nina, and or the promise's she made her. She was just another means to an end. To her end.

_Just like Damien._

"Fine!" Nina growled pulling a gun out. "I'll just handle this myself!"

My mind immediately flashed back to the night Tasha shot me, and I could feel the phantom burning in my chest. It was a common reaction whenever I remembered the shooting.

I guess it's not the kind of pain you can ever forget.

But I was born and bred with protective instincts.

Faster than I even thought possible; I had Sydney behind me while I shielded her with my body. I barely had enough time to jerk Sydney sideways before the bullet grazed me.

I cried out in pain when I felt the familiar burn in my shoulder.

"You idiot!" Tasha screeched as she lunged towards Nina. "You could have killed her!"

_Wasn't that the point of all this?_

"I'm sorry!" Nina apologized when the gun fell out of her hands. Her eyes widened in fear and with good reason. One look at Tasha's face said Nina no longer served a purpose.

With very little effort, Tasha sent her body crashing into the wall. The force of it knocked her unconscious and her body fell in a heap on the floor.

Tasha surveyed her work with satisfaction and smiled.

"And then there was one."

* * *

><p><strong>Alexander's POV<strong>

I'd never seen anything like it in my life.

I'd heard the rumors about Strigoi working in large numbers, but I'd never actually seen it firsthand.

The moment the chaos broke out I started searching for her.

It was a ridiculous reaction given her reputation. She was a skilled Guardian who had been trained by the best. But even so, that was my grandchild she was carrying and that was enough to cause me concern.

Unfortunately for me I couldn't find her; not before they ushered us into a safe room.

It wasn't until we were locked inside that I found her.

Each safe room was equipped with a state of the art surveillance system, and when the screen flashed over to the library I spotted her. She was standing in the center of the room with her body placed strategically in front of Sydney.

I watched in horror as one of the women pulled a gun, but before I could see what happened, the screen changed.

After carefully weighing my options, I dashed towards the door.

"What are you doing?" One of the Royals asked. "Are you crazy?"

I must have looked like a lunatic to this guy for wanting to run back into danger.

But that was my daughter in law out there, and I knew I had to help.

She may not like me right now, and she'd probably question my intentions. But if the past 15 years had taught me anything, it was that you don't turn your back on your family.

I'd learned that lesson the hard way.

I'd made a lot of mistakes in my life, some I could never take back. But my son on the other hand, he was a good man. He had a good heart and lived a good life and I would do whatever I could to help protect that.

I just hope I'm not too late.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it took me so long to update! I started a new job this week and it put me a little behind. I will try to get us back on track as quickly as possible. Thanks for being patient with me!<strong>

**And don't forget to leave a review. It will help motivate me : )**


	20. Chapter 20

**RPOV**

How the hell was I going to get us out of this mess?

Damien was dead.

Nina was unconscious.

And judging by her frequent screams, Sydney was now in active later.

Meanwhile, the woman I hate most in the world was standing there staring at me like she had no place else in the world she had to be.

Who knew, maybe she didn't.

"I know what you're thinking Rose, but this can only go one of two ways." She said as she stalked a little closer. Her face was completely expressionless, and I got the feeling she wasn't scared of me.

There was a time when she would have been, but my pregnancy had hindered that.

At 6 months pregnant I only had so much flexibility and not enough to consider me a threat.

Or so she thought.

I'd built my career on the backs of those who had underestimated me, and Tasha would be no different.

Sure this baby made it a lot harder to fight, but it also gave me a lot more to fight for.

When I heard Sydney let out another strangled cry behind me, I was reminded of that.

Turning my attention back to Tasha I spoke.

"As much as I'm enjoying our quality time together, how about we move this thing along." I suggested.

Tasha looked at me with total amusement and laughed.

"Well I can't argue with that. So here's the deal; you come with me willingly, and I let your friend here live. If not, I kill her first and drag you along with me anyway." She shrugged easily. "Your choice."

She seemed awfully confident about all this which would work nicely in my favor.

Over confidence was an opponent's worst enemy.

"As tempting as those options sound, I think I'll choose door number three." I told her just as casually.

I knew my own confidence would annoy her as well, and that's exactly what I needed. That anger would make her sloppy and that sloppiness would make her careless.

Carelessness was an opponent's second worst enemy.

"I'm afraid there is no third option. At least not for you. You see, I've got big plans for that baby of your's and I'll need you alive until then."

Her smirk had widened into a full blown grin and just the sight of it made my skin crawl.

"What could you possibly want with my baby?" I asked, trying hard to conceal the venom in my voice. Just the thought of her anywhere near my child made my blood boil.

Tasha looked at me with pity, as if I'd just asked something obvious.

Last time I checked, Strigoi weren't really the maternal type.

"I would have thought a smart girl like you could have figured it out." She tsked, shaking her head. "That baby will be mine and Dimitri's last chance at a family. Once he's reawakened, he's going to want that child."

_Holy crap!_

Not only was she crazy, she was clueless too.

And before I had a chance to stop it, a hard laugh escaped me.

"What's so funny?" She scowled and I knew that wasn't the reaction she was hoping for.

She was probably expecting me to be outraged and even lash out in attack.

But that wasn't going to happen.

"I'm just amused by how flawed your master plan is." I chuckled.

And Tasha's eyes narrowed at me as a result.

"My plan is flawless." She seethed, and I could see her teeth gritted in irritation.

"Only if you consider your inability to turn Dimitri into a Strigoi flawless." I smiled.

"What are you talking about?" She asked flatly.

Her tone was remained neutral but there was an edge to it as well.

"I'm talking about the disadvantage of your prison stint. You see, the world went on out there without you, and we've learned a thing or two since then. We even stumbled across our own discoveries, one of which relates to Strigoi. Once an awakened becomes restored, they can never be turned back again."

She listened to my story in silent outrage before she lunged at me. I didn't even see her coming until my body crashed into the ground.

"You're lying!" She screeched as she hovered over top of me. I could feel the weight she bared down on my stomach and I struggled to wiggle out from underneath her.

"Admit it!" She shrieked. "Admit you're lying!"

She looked absolutely crazed when she drew her hand back and slapped me, and the burn from it stung my cheek.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." I told her smugly.

Even in her crazed state, I couldn't bring myself to really fear her.

A parade of emotions played out on her face. She was confused and disbelieving before she settled on angry acceptance.

I braced myself for my violence, but her face suddenly turned calculating. She was now looking at me like she'd just won the lottery and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't unnerving.

I'd just crapped on her entire plan. What could she possibly have to be smiling about?

In a movement so quick I barely saw it; she was no longer on top of me and had roughly yanked me to my feet.

"Then I suppose I'll just have to settle on a plan B." She grinned maliciously.

It was hard to believe she had once been so beautiful when all I could see now was pure evil.

That evil intensified when she whipped her head around to glare at Sydney.

She was clearly having yet another painful contraction and Tasha seemed more than a little annoyed by it.

"Shut her up Rose, or I'll do it for you. I'm tired of listening to her whining." She snapped.

_Heartless bitch._

Something about the way she said that lit a spark in me, and I felt my irritation spike.

"She's in labor you idiot. She needs a doctor!" I growled back. I leaned down to wipe a little sweat from her forehead and she tried to give me a reassuring smile.

"I'm okay Rose." Sydney panted as she struggled to breathe through the pain.

I thought taking a bullet to the shoulder hurt, but my pain was nothing compared to this. She was putting on a brave face, but it wouldn't last. This baby was coming and they both needed help.

The last thing I wanted to do was let Tasha have her way, but if it would help Sydney and the baby, what choice did I have?

"Fine, I'll go with you." I relented and Tasha's sinister red eyes brightened. "But you have to let me call Sydney some help. Someone needs to know where to find her.

The ear piece I was wearing was only one way, but I still had my cellphone on me.

I had briefly considered trying to call for help earlier, but with the chaos in the ballroom, any possible back up just seemed unlikely.

Especially for a guardian.

"Rose no!" Sydney cried.

When I turned around to look at her, I could see the pleading in her eyes. She was begging me not to do this and I loved her for that. It was also the reason why I had to.

"It's okay." I told her, crouching down to squeeze her hand. "Don't you worry about me, I'll be fine."

But she didn't look convinced.

Her eyes darted between me and Tasha nervously.

"But you don't even know what she wants with you." Sydney argued.

"I want the same thing I always wanted." Tasha interjected. "I want that baby."

Now that Sydney mentioned it, I was curious about something.

"What's the point without Dimitri?" I asked. "Do you really want to raise a baby on your own? I don't know much about your social life, but a baby will definitely cramp your style."

She looked at me with humor and laughed.

"I'm immortal Rose; I've got all the time in the world to socialize. Besides, with any luck this baby will be a boy. I'll have killed you after he's born, and when he's of age I can turn him for myself. It may not be as good as having Dimitri, but with the two of your gens, I have no doubts he'll be quite handsome. Plus the way I see it, ½ Dimitri is better than no Dimitri at all."

And that did it.

Any chance she had at my cooperation had no vanished and in its place was a blind rage.

How dare she plan to turn my baby!

Watching Dimitri fall in those caves had been the very worst moment in my life. All the plans we'd made and the future we'd had, they had all died that day right along with him.

But then the craziest thing happened; we got our miracle! We got our lives back and our future back. It was the reason I stood here pregnant today.

Dimitri and I made miracles, it's what we do.

And now Tasha is standing here, a threat to all that. A threat to my family, and my child and the future he hasn't even had a chance to claim.

Well if she thinks I'm about to let her take that all away from him, then she's got another thing coming.

She must have sensed the rage she'd awakened in me, because when I lunged at her, she was ready. I managed to land a solid hit to her, but she rebounded just as quickly.

She made a move to kick my feet out from under me, but I saw that one coming a mile away.

She may have had Strigoi strength on her side, but I was armed with years of experience and a totally badass mentor.

We moved around each other in a deadly dance, each of us landing our blows. The pain in my shoulder was a bit debilitating, but she had a disadvantage as well. Where I wanted to kill her, she was limited to just trying to restrain me. In order for her plans to work, she needed me alive and it was something I could use to my advantage.

Or at least that's what I thought.

I let myself get cocky about her reluctance to kill me, and eventually that confidence back fired.

"Enough!" Tasha screeched as she tackled me to the ground.

The force with which she hit me was a sign that the game had changed. She'd grown tired of fighting with me and I knew it.

She didn't even bother to say as much before her teeth sank into me.

I cried out in agony when her fangs pierced my skin and nearby I could hear Sydney screaming. And this time, I knew it wasn't from the labor.

This was it. Tasha was going to kill me.

I would die, my baby would die, and I still didn't know what had happened to Dimitri.

Oh Dimitri…

His warm brown eyes, his gentle embrace. The way his touch set my body ablaze. I loved that man the way I had never loved anyone, not even Lissa.

And his face was the last thing I saw before the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay guys, I know things seem grim, but trust me, it will all be okay. The more reviews I get, the sooner you'll find out how : )<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**Alexander's POV**

_Think Alexi, Think!_

Whatever I'd been expecting to find here, it wasn't this.

There were two unidentified bodies on the floor, but I couldn't tell if they were still breathing.

Sydney was cowering on the floor screaming; not just in pain but in panic.

And Rose was lying on the floor motionless while a raven haired Strigoi hunched over here. Even from this angle I could see Rose's pale color, and if I didn't stop that monster soon, she'd be dead.

_Just like Katya._

Just thinking about her stirred the familiar pain in my heart.

My beautiful Katya. I hadn't been able to save her then, but I could save Rose now. I just needed to find a way.

It was times like these that made me wish I was a fire user. What could being an air user do for me now?

And then it hit me.

What I really needed was a distraction; something to draw the monsters attention towards me. I wasn't sure that it would save Rose, but hopefully it could buy her some time.

If I knew my son, he was probably looking for her right now. Surely help was on the way.

Focusing all my attention on the large stained glass window, I released a gust of wind that shattered the glass.

That monster had been so busy devouring Rose that she hadn't even noticed me until now. Her head shot up at me in shock and I wanted to cringe when I saw Rose's blood dripping down her chin.

"Who the hell are you?" She spat, using the back of her hand to wipe off her lips.

The image was eerily familiar and my mind flashed back to the night I'd lost Katya. It was difficult to stay in the present, but when she rose to her feet, I knew I had to.

Mustering all the courage I had in me, I squared my shoulders.

"Get away from my daughter in law." I hissed.

Even I was surprised by how malicious I sounded. I don't know where I'd gotten the sudden confidence from; I was hardly a viable opponent. In fact, there was a good chance she was about to slaughter me.

I wasn't exactly what one would call a skilled fighter.

Hell, my own son had beaten me up when he was thirteen!

The only fights I'd ever engaged in were with women, and this was no ordinary woman.

Perhaps dying by a woman's hand would be a fitting punishment for someone like me. I could think of a few women who would probably agree, most notably Olena.

The monster before me cocked her head to the side curiously.

"If that were true, you'd have to be Dimka's father." She said eyeing me skeptically. "And based on what Dimka's told me, you're not exactly the hero type." She finished smugly.

I could only imagine the things she'd heard about me. All of them horrible and every one of them true.

I had been my own version of a monster before Katya, but I wasn't that same man now.

"People can change." I replied dryly, giving her a meaningful glance.

Her metamorphosis was proof of that.

She must not have appreciated the implication because her eyes narrowed and she scoffed.

"If that's what you want to tell yourself." She shrugged. "But stay out of my way. Rose and I have a score to settle and I've had enough interference as it is." She spat, looking down at Rose in irritation.

When she crouched down to finish her off, I responded by blowing out another window.

Her head swiveled back in my direction and I felt like shrinking under her intense glare.

You know that old saying "If looks could kill." Well let's just say I'd be dead right now.

"Is this really how you want to play this?" She asked. "Because I have no problem going through you."

I struggled not to gulp so that she wouldn't detect my fear. I knew if I answered her my voice would crack, so instead I just blew out another window.

It made a point as good as any answer would.

She looked at the window and then back shrewdly before rolling her eyes. There was only one large window left in the library and glass littered the carpet underneath it.

"What is it with you men and protecting her?" She shrieked. "I swear it's like the bitch has nine lives!"

"Then it's unfortunate you only have one." I told her boldly.

I still didn't understand my sudden rush of confidence, but right now I wasn't going to question it.

"Why are you risking your life for a woman who probably hates you?" she asked.

It was a valid question, one I had already asked myself. But I knew why I was doing this and I wanted this monster to know too.

"I'm doing this for my wife." I told her sharply. "Now leave before I put an end to this."

She stared back at me in disbelief before snorting.

"You seem awfully sure of yourself." She commented as she took a deliberate step in my direction.

But I wasn't having that.

Calling on all of the magic in me, I formed a large funnel cloud. As the wind picked up the funnel tightened and it sent books and papers flying everywhere.

Sydney had used the distraction to crawl over to Rose's body and was busy trying to shield them both.

The monster's raven black hair whipped wildly around her face and her eyes squinted closed from the harsh winds. With a concentrated effort, I was able to strategically use the funnel to push her towards the broken window. She fought hard against it, but the wind was just too strong and it created an impenetrable barrier between us.

I had no desire to see that woman escape, but I wasn't equipped to kill her. The best I could right now was protect Rose.

Even through the clouds and debris, I could see her anger. It radiated off of her in waves, and had a life force all its own.

What could Rose have ever done to warrant such hatred?

Whatever it was, it must have been bad.

"You can't protect her forever." The monster shouted.

It was difficult to hear her over the sound of the wind, but there was no mistaking the warning. Her vendetta with Rose was far from over.

And with one last look of longing, she jumped agilely out of the window.

* * *

><p><strong>Dimitri's POV<strong>

The suspense was killing me.

We'd tried everything we could think of to get out of this place, and we were no closer to escaping our cell.

It had been nearly an hour since we'd heard the sirens and all we could do was wait. But the longer we waited, the more my imagination ran away from me.

We'd had no contact with the outside world and it left us assuming the worst. All I could think about was Rose and whether she was somewhere out there right now and needing me.

If anything happened to her while I was locked in here, I'd never forgive myself.

One look at my two friends told me they felt the same way.

"I can't take this anymore!" Adrian announced as he slammed his fist against the wall. "What if Sydney went into labor!"

His hands were shaking and his breathing was erratic. He even had a crazed look in his eyes. He was panic stricken and I really felt for the guy.

This would be a hell of a time to go into labor.

Between the three of us, I was the least hysterical and I knew I should say something supportive.

I was just as worried as the next guy, but we couldn't all fall apart. Someone needed to be the voice of reason here.

"I'm sure wherever the girls are, they're okay." I tried reassuring him. "Rose would never let anything bad happen to them."

But neither of them looked convinced, and to be honest I wasn't either.

Of course for me, there was more reason to worry.

Rose was a trained guardian who would always lay her life on the line. Lissa was her charge and she would die before she ever let any harm come to her.

Rose was a fighter and she would fight to the end.

However telling them our wives were okay was for their benefit as much as mine. I needed to believe they were okay, if only for my sanity.

I was still busy trying to convince myself she was okay when I heard it.

It was the sound of the prison doors slamming, followed by the echo of footsteps. Each movement sent an echo down the hall, and we all exchanged a look of confusion.

Was it a friend or a foe?

There was only one way to find out.

Bracing myself, I squared my shoulders and stood tall.

"What's the meaning of this?" Han's barked when he rounded the corner to find us.

He was just as surprised by the scene in front of him as we were, only we were even more surprised to the prisoner he was escorting.

_Nina._

As much as I loathed the very sight of her, I couldn't help but feel relief. If she was here, that meant her plan had failed. And if her plan had failed, then there was a chance our wives were okay.

"It's a long story" said Christian dismissively. "Now is Lissa okay?"

I knew we were all wondering the same thing, but Nina's presence had Adrian distracted.

He was staring at her with blatant hatred in his eyes and it was a look I had never seen before.

_Not on Adrian anyway._

"The Queen is fine." Han's reassured Christian, but I knew there was more to the story. I hadn't missed the fact that he avoided eye contact with me.

"What about Sydney and Rose?" I continued to question him.

The mention of Sydney's name drew Adrian's attention and Han's eyed us both carefully.

"It's complicated." He told us. "But they're both going to be okay."

_Going to be? What the hell did that mean?_

"Let me get her settled in" Han's continued gesturing towards Nina. "After that I will give you all the details."

But that wasn't going to be good enough.

"Where is my wife?" I asked harshly. I didn't have any patience left in me.

Han's must have sensed I wouldn't let this go easily and breathed a sigh of defeat.

"She's the same place as Lady Ivashkov." He said cryptically.

_I was really getting tired of this…_

"Great, now where the hell is that?" Adrian shot back.

Apparently he was in no mood for half-truths either. We'd spent the last few hours stewing in this cell while our family's lives were on the line. We needed answers and we needed them now.

"They're in the hospital." He told us, and my heart stopped beating in my chest.

* * *

><p><strong>I know a lot of people wanted Dimitri to save her but that just seemed to predictable. <strong>

**Beside's this gave Alexander a good chance to prove himself a changed man, and we'll learn more about Katya later. **

**Hope you enjoyed it, and Rose and Dimitri will have their reunion next chapter.**

**Dimitri also has some explaining to do...**

**Don't forget to review : )**


	22. Chapter 22

**RPOV**

If this was heaven, then I was seriously disappointed.

Fluorescent lights and incessant beeping was no way to spend eternity.

As my eyelids struggled to open, the events of the night came rushing back to me.

The attack, Tasha, and Sydney going into labor.

_Oh God, Sydney!_

In a panic, my eyes shot open and I made the mistake of trying to sit up too quickly. My battered body protested in pain and I couldn't help but wince at the movement. Just then a heavy hand appeared on my shoulder and gently pushed me back towards the pillow.

I turned my head to get a good look at the hand and was more than surprised by what I found.

_Alexander._

He was looking at me nervously and I waited for him to say something.

But he never did.

He just sat there staring back at me with a small timid smile.

When the tension became too much I decided to speak. I figured one of us had to.

I only had about a billion questions, but I decided to start with one.

"How did I get here?" I asked, looking around the brightly lit hospital room.

I had no memory of getting here, or anything that had happened leading up to this. The last thing I remembered was Tasha biting me.

Alexander looked at me sympathetically and his smile disappeared.

"I brought you here." He answered solemnly.

He still looked pretty nervous about talking to me and I could definitely understand why.

Our last conversation hadn't gone over very well.

"Why?" I asked confused, and his small smile returned.

"You were injured Rose, you needed help."

I suppose I could understand that, but it didn't explain how he found me. But before I could ask him about it, a more important question came to mind.

"Where's Sydney?" I asked suddenly and he seemed taken aback by my sudden change in questioning.

"Sydney is doing okay." He reassured me with a smile. "She's in a room nearby and the Queen is with her."

I laid my head back against in the pillow in relief. As long as she was with Lissa, she was in good hands.

With a little more peace of mind, I was able to return to my line of questioning.

"How did you find us?"

Alexander looked away slightly guilty and I prayed he wasn't about to pull a Damien on me. It would be nice if just once today, someone had nothing but good intentions.

When he turned back to meet my gaze he looked sheepish.

"When the chaos broke out I was looking for you, but I didn't have very much luck. It wasn't until I was locked in a safe room that I saw on the surveillance screens. You were in the library and there was a woman with a gun." He answered, recounting the night's events.

The reminder of Nina brought the pain in my shoulder to attention.

_I seriously need to stop meeting bullets like this…_

"After that, I didn't really think." He continued. "I just took off."

_This was unbelievable!_

I was staring at him blankly and I had yet to say something.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and under my gaze.

"You probably think I'm crazy." He said looking embarrassed. "And that I had no business interfering. You asked me to stay away, and maybe I should have, but when I saw you on the video screen, I just reacted. I couldn't watch another person I care about die by the hands of a Strigoi. I just couldn't."

I wanted to say something, but I was just too shell shocked.

Despite all the terrible things I had said to him, he had risked his life to try and save mine.

Not only that, he'd somehow managed to do what I couldn't. He'd saved Sydney from Tasha as well and I had yet to even thank him for it.

But before I got the chance, the hospital door swung open and I nearly died of relief at seeing him.

"Dimitri!" I cried and he closed the distance between us in seconds.

I didn't even care when he jostled my injured shoulder as his large arms completely enveloped me. Tears of relief streamed down my cheeks as I breathed in his familiar scent.

"Oh Roza!" He sighed before crushing his lips against mine. I kissed him back with an urgency like my life completely depended on it.

In that moment I didn't need to eat, sleep or breathe. Al I needed to survive was Dimitri and I needed to make sure he knew it.

When he finally broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against mine.

Apparently his desire to be parted from me was as nonexistent as mine.

"Are you alright Milaya?"

His eyes roamed my body for any injuries and his expression hardened when he found them.

If I knew Dimitri (and I did), a lot of that anger was directed inward. It was just like him to blame himself for this.

_Such a stubborn man…_

I grabbed his face fiercely in my hands, ignoring the pain that it spiked in my shoulder. I needed him to look at me and understand that I was okay.

"Dimitri, I'm okay." I told him softly, resting one of his large hands on my stomach. "We're both okay." I amended to include the baby.

I'd felt he or she moving around enough to know that was true.

His eyes softened when I mentioned the baby and he crashed his lips back into mine. This time he kissed me tenderly and I let myself got lost in the bliss he kisses bring me.

"You don't know how worried I've been." He murmured against my lips. "I've been going crazy!"

_Speaking of that…_

"What the hell happened to you today?" I asked.

It wasn't until I pulled away slightly that I noticed Alexander had slipped out.

A pang of guilt struck me when I realized I hadn't had a chance to thank him. But that would have to wait. Right now I needed more answers.

More specifically, where the hell my husband had been all night.

Now that I knew he was okay, he had a lot of explaining to do.

"It's a long story." Dimitri sighed tiredly, and I got the sense he didn't want to talk about it.

_Well too damn bad._

"Does this long story have anything to do with those letters you've hiding from me?" I asked, and Dimitri raised one eyebrow.

"Who told you about that?" He asked, not seeming the least bit guilty.

"Does that really matter right now? You were keeping them from me for a reason and I want to know why."

Dimitri gave me an exasperated look.

"Rose you know why. I was trying to protect you."

"And look how well that turned out!" I shouted.

I hadn't meant to get so angry with him, but I couldn't help it.

How many times had we gone through this? He was always keeping secrets for my own good and they always blew up in his face.

I immediately regretted being so sharp with him when he hung his head in shame.

"I'm so sorry Roza; I know this is all my fault."

Rolling my eyes, I tilted his chin back up to look at me.

"I'm not blaming you Dimitri, but you've got to stop keeping secrets from me, even if you mean well. I'm a big girl you know, and I can handle a lot more than you think."

Dimitri ran the back of his hand lightly across my cheek and I had a feeling he was tracing the bruises there.

"I know how strong you are Milaya; it's one of the many reasons why I love you. But I've spent my entire life protecting others, and I think I sometimes forget that you don't need me."

"I'll always need you." I told softly pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. "I just need you in a different way. I may be capable of protecting myself, but my life just wouldn't make any sense without you. I think I've proved that before." I reminded him with a sly grin.

As horrible as that time in my life had been, I was glad we could joke about it now.

"I need you to trust me to look after myself, the same way I've always trusted you. And you can start by telling me that happened tonight, and don't even think of leaving anything out!"

Dimitri looked back up at me and smiled fondly.

"Then I guess I should start at the beginning…"

I listened patiently as Dimitri gave me all the details.

He started by telling me when the first letter arrived from Tasha, and I tried not to react too badly when I realized how long he'd been keeping secrets from me.

After that he went into his research with Christian and how they were trying to locate Tasha's whereabouts.

He told me about the leaked information and his suspicions about Nina.

Once again I had to bite my tongue when I'd realized how much time I could have saved them. I'd picked up on Nina's affections for Adrian's years ago and had even noticed her unusual before as of lately. I'd been meaning to talk to Adrian about it for weeks now, but my pregnant brain made me so forgetful!

I swear it was a miracle most days I could remember my name!

It wasn't until he got to the events of this afternoon that his own memories became foggy. The last thing he remembered was eating the takeout lunch Damien had picked up for them.

"Now that I think about, I haven't seen Damien since then. I wonder why he wasn't going crazy looking for Christian." He mused.

Now it seemed I had some information to offer him.

"That might have something to do with his involvement with Tasha." I told him and his eyes flashed with anger.

He seemed to be putting the final pieces of his missing day together, and realized Damien was responsible for drugging them. That's the reason they couldn't remember getting locked in the court prison, and why no one had bothered to look for them.

Nina had compelled the guardians on duty to leave their posts and no one had bothered to question Damien. He was one of Christian's assigned guardians. Any excuses he'd made for Christian's absence would be easily accepted.

Even I hadn't questioned him.

"Where is he now?" Dimitri asked through gritted teeth.

It was a shame Damien was already dead; I would have enjoyed seeing Dimitri get his hands on him.

"If I had to guess, he's in the morgue by now. Tasha snapped his neck hours ago." I told him, and I could see his carefully concealed disappointment. I had a feeling Dimitri had wanted to be the one to do that.

"I could kill him for what he did to you." Dimitri growled, confirming what I already knew.

"Too bad he's already dead." I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

As angry as I was with the guy, there was no point in dwelling on it now. Damien was dead and he's paid for his crimes with his life.

"Speaking of people I'd like to kill…" Dimitri said lightly. "What was Alexander doing in here before?"

He had yet to mention him before now and I had been wondering if Dimitri had even noticed him. When he ran in here before, he seemed to have tunnel vision and the only person he had been focused on was me.

Apparently he was more observant than I thought.

I wasn't really sure how to tell him about this. I was having a hard enough time believing it myself.

But Dimitri had a right to know what his father had done for us, and how he had saved both of our lives.

"I'm not sure you're going to believe this." I started to tell him, and he gave me a wary look.

"Try me" he encouraged, so I took a deep breath in.

"I know this sounds crazy, but Alexander might not be the bastard we thought…"

And then I proceeded to tell him my own story.

* * *

><p><strong>I wasn't going to post the next chapter tonight, but I might not get a chance tomorrow since it's my birthday : ) So here it is. <strong>

**If I get enough reviews, I'll try to post again tomorrow. **** : )**


	23. Chapter 23

**DPOV**

It was a difficult truth to accept, and one I wasn't quite sure what to do with.

For as long as I could remember he'd been the bad guy; the villain in my story. He was cruel and uncaring and wreaked havoc on my childhood. He had terrorized my family and brutalized my mother.

At the age of thirteen he had forced my hand and effectively robbed me of my innocence. I was never quite the same after that.

Those were the feelings I associated with Alexander; that was what made sense to me. The version of Alexander Rose spoke of didn't.

I just couldn't rationalize it, and yet somehow he'd saved my family's life.

_How as that possible?_

That was the question I'd spent most of the night asking myself.

Once Adrian was by Sydney's side, Lissa had come to check on Rose.

We all knew how Rose felt about Lissa's magic, and she vehemently refused any healing. But when Lissa got an idea in her head, she could be quite persistent. It took some convincing on all our parts, and maybe even a bit of guilt, but Rose eventually agreed to let Lissa heal her.

Only then had I been permitted to take her home.

The events of the day had been exhausting, but I just couldn't bring myself to sleep.

I had come dangerously close to losing my family today, and I needed to ensure that would never happen again.

_But how?_

It wasn't as if I could follow Rose around the rest of her life. It wasn't practical and she would skin me alive before she let me make her out to be a victim.

I was running low on options and patience and to be honest, I was pretty desperate.

Watching Rose sleep, it was all I could think about.

She was lying flat on her back, while her large stomach protruded towards the ceiling. Her long dark curls were splayed wildly around her face and she emitted that coveted pregnancy glow.

In nothing but one of my old St. Basil's t-shirts, she had never looked so beautiful.

Even after years together, I found her beauty awe inspiring; probably because it was more than skin deep.

She had the courage of a lion and the compassion of a saint. She inspired such affection in everyone she met. She was a good person and she didn't deserve to keep suffering like this.

It wasn't right.

As I watched her sleeping form carefully, I noticed the subtle movement in her stomach.

The baby had been kicking for a few weeks now, but I'd yet to feel it for myself. Every time I tried to catch it he or she would fall still.

It seemed the baby was already practicing the art of testing my patience.

_Just like its mother. _

I watched in awe for a few minutes longer before I decided to take a chance. With a feather light touch, I placed on hand on her stomach.

I had no real expectations that I would feel anything, so you can imagine my surprise when I did.

My eyes darted down to her large stomach and when it kicked again I smiled.

"Hello there." I murmured, using my native tongue.

Carefully lifting up Rose's t-shirt, I placed a gentle kiss on her bare belly.

"I'm your Papa." I told it, and was rewarded with another kick.

I let out a soft chuckle and felt Rose begin to stir. She wiggled a little underneath my touch and her nose scrunched up in that adorable way of hers.

I waited a few more seconds for her to stop moving before continuing my conversation.

"You probably don't know this, but we had quite a scare last night."

Once again the baby offered another hard kick and I saw Rose wince a little in pain.

"As happy as I am to hear from you, try to take it easy on your Mama. She's been through a lot lately."

Much to my surprise, the answering kick was a bit softer.

"That's better." I smiled, giving her stomach another kiss.

"I know there's been a lot of chaos lately, but I don't want you to worry about that. Your Mama is the strongest person I know, and we won't ever let anything bad happen to you."

None of my anger towards Tasha had receded, especially after hearing about her plans for my child.

It would be a cold day in hell before I let her get her hands on him.

"Your Mama and I love you very much, and we both can't wait to meet you."

"I don't think the baby is fluent in Russian." Rose mumbled groggily.

I immediately felt guilty for waking her, but her smile told me it wasn't necessary.

"He may not be fluent now." I told her. "But he will be."

She rolled her beautiful brown eyes and I laughed.

"That hardly seems fair Comrade. If the two of you are speaking Russian, then how will I know if you're talking about me?"

"You could always learn Russian yourself." I chuckled lightly.

Judging by the sour scowl she was wearing, she didn't think much of that idea.

"That's a lot more complicated than just having you speak in English." She told me. "For all we know, Russian is the next dead language. Are you really going to force me to learn a language I'll never need? Let's be reasonable here."

I listened in amusement to her convoluted logic.

"That's high unlikely Milaya. Besides, Latin is a dead language and there are still people who choose to learn it." I reminded her.

"Yeah well those people are Shmucks. What reasonable person wants to waste their time learning a dead language? When are they ever going to learn it?"

I could have continued arguing with her, but I didn't really see the point.

Some day's there was simply no reasoning with her.

"Let's say you and I shelf this conversation for another day." I suggested. "We've got plenty of time before the baby gets here."

Her eyes which had recently been narrowed suddenly brightened when I mentioned the baby.

"Speaking of babies, I believe we have somewhere we need to be. A deals a deal Comrade."

Rose had been desperate to check on Sydney last night, but I'd made her agree to get some sleep first. Her body had taken quite a beating and she needed time to recover.

"Are you sure you feel up to this? I'm sure Sydney and Adrian would understand if you took it easy today."

"Don't be ridiculous." She scoffed. "I feel fine; great even. Now let's get moving. I've a baby to meet!"

* * *

><p>By the time we reached the hospital, her excitement was pretty contagious. Even I was looking forward to meeting the newest member of our extended family.<p>

After a subtle knock on the hospital door I heard Adrian invite us in.

"It's about time." Adrian teased as he walked across the room to hug Rose.

But she only had eyes for that baby.

Any trace of the manic man Adrian was last night had been replaced by a doting new dad. He chuckled light heartedly when Rose maneuvered out of the path of his hug and made a bee line straight for Sydney.

She was sitting up in her hospital bed holding a tiny pink bundle. Rose crept closer to her side and peered around the pink blankets to see the baby. The moment she laid eyes on her she let out an audible gasp.

"She's so beautiful." Rose whispered, trailing one light finger against her delicate cheek.

Sydney looked up from her new baby fondly and smiled.

"Would you like to hold her?"

Rose didn't need to be asked twice. She held out her arms expertly and made a small cradle for Sydney to set her in.

The baby wiggled and squirmed a bit before settling into Rose's arms and coming to stand behind her, I got my first glance at the child myself.

Even through her tiny pink cap I could make out a head of blond curls and when she opened her small eyes they were the same striking shade of Emerald as Adrian's.

I had never seen a more beautiful baby.

"She's pretty impressive right?" Adrian grinned as he watched us stare in awe of his new baby. "I mean I knew she would be pretty great, but this time I even amazed myself."

Sydney looked at him tiredly and rolled her eyes.

"You'd think from the way he goes on about her that he did all the hard work." She teased and he gazed back at her with such affection.

It was an exchange of love I could see Rose and I sharing in the near future and the thought alone made me smile.

"She's perfect." I told them honestly, and on that they could both agree.

"What's her name?" Rose asked without ever taking her eyes off the baby.

She was puckering her lips in this adorable way that mimicked the baby and I had to resist the urge to tease her for going so soft on me.

Sydney gave Adrian a quick nod and he smiled. After walking over to join Sydney by her bedside he spoke.

"Meet Juliet Rose Ivashkov."

Rose's head snapped up when she heard her name and eyes moved over to Sydney's.

"We wanted to name her after her God Mother. That is if you accept…"

Rose looked between the two of them and then back at the baby with a growing smile.

"You want me to be her God Mother?" she asked for clarification.

Adrian and Sydney both chuckled at her bewildered expression.

"Did you have someone better in mind?" Adrian teased. "Because if so, I'm all ears."

Even with a small baby in her arms, Rose managed to land him a solid slug.

"Geez." He complained rubbing the spot where she'd just hit him. She smiled proudly at her good work before turning to hand the baby over to me.

Despite my sisters having children, I didn't have much experience with small babies, so I decided to try coping the maneuver Rose did. Making a small cradle with my arms, Rose gently laid in Juliet.

I couldn't believe how truly tiny she was.

"Rose, you took a bullet me and this baby last night. If that doesn't scream God Mother, then I don't know what does. You risked your life for her last night. We can't think of anyone we'd trust more to look after Juliet." Sydney told her sincerely.

"Well except for Dimitri." Adrian chimed in.

I looked up from the baby's face in confusion and they all laughed.

"I think that's Adrian's subtle way of asking you to be her God Father." Rose nudged me. I looked at Juliet's parents for confirmation and they both nodded.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

My relationship with Adrian had come such a long way; it was hard to believe we'd once hated each other.

Deep down I'd always known he was a decent guy, but back then I'd been unwilling to admit it. I guess it was largely in part of the fact that he could have offered Rose the kind of life the two of us could never see possible.

"Of course we're sure." Sydney laughed. "Between you and Rose, she couldn't be in better hands."

I looked down at the now sleeping baby in my arms and smiled.

"I'd be honored."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed the little bit of baby fluff, I thought it might lighten things up a bit. <strong>

**Don't forget to leave a review : ) Thanks!**


	24. Chapter 24

**RPOV**

It had been a month since the attack, and we hadn't heard a peep out of Tasha.

No threats, no letters, and no sign of any attacks.

For the first few weeks, the entire court had been on edge, but when Thanksgiving passed without incidence, most people started to relax.

I on the other hand did not.

I'd seen Tasha's hatred first hand and there was no way she was about to give up on her vengeance so easily. I knew she would return for me, the only question was when.

While the rest of court was busy planning for Christmas, we were busy making contingency plans.

I wasn't delusional enough to believe Tasha would ever let us be. It was the reason why I'd been training so hard lately.

The next time she came for me, I'd be ready.

In a less than shocking turn of events, my nightmares had returned only this time they played out a little differently.

Instead of being shot in the main ballroom, I was now trapped in the library.

Each time I had the dream; it played out the same way. Tasha would trap me in the library before tearing my bare stomach open with her teeth. As the loss of blood drained the life out of me, I watched Tasha walk off with my baby and then the dream would fade to black.

The first night that it happened I was hysterical.

When I woke up screaming bloody murder, I was certain I'd just shaved a few years off of Dimitri's life.

It wasn't easy to pretend life was business as usual, but we tried to make the best of it. It was the reason why we were standing around this Christmas tree lot freezing our asses off.

"It's too tall." Lissa argued. "How will we ever get the star on top?"

We must have looked at over a hundred trees and none of them had reached Lissa's standards.

"Okay, I know this is a pretty radical idea, but we could always ask the 6'7 Russian to do it." Christian remarked sarcastically and I had to stifle a laugh when I caught Lissa glaring at him.

Apparently she didn't care much for the opinions of the peanut gallery.

Christian was the classic scrooge of Christmas and was only participating because Lissa made him.

"This one looks nice." Dimitri suggested pointing to a smaller stoutly tree.

Lissa scrunched up her nose.

"Too fat."

"Oh for the love of God!" I groaned throwing my hands up in the air. "Just pick a tree already!"

I wasn't above begging if it meant we could leave faster. My toes were frozen solid in my boots.

Dimitri chuckled from behind me and wrapped both arms around my waist.

"We can't just pick some random tree rose. It's Juliet's first Christmas and she deserves the perfect tree. Don't you want that for your God Daughter?"

_Damn._

I forgot how good she could be at playing dirty.

"I appreciate the sentiment Liss, but she really won't know the difference." Adrian told her as he continued perusing the trees.

It took another 10 suggestions before Lissa spotted the perfect tree and we finally drove off the lot.

When we arrived back at Lissa's, the boys went to work setting up the tree. We were all planning on enjoying a nice dinner later when we would decorate the tree after.

We still had a few hours to kill so I decided to head home for a quick nap. Carrying around 20 extra pounds of person on you was exhausting.

I had just walked into the front door of my building when the doorman called me to stop.

"Guardian Hathaway, this letter came for you."

I eyes the mysterious envelope warily, almost afraid to look.

I had my suspicions about where it might have come from and if I was right, I wasn't sure I wanted to read it.

"Does it say who it's from?" I asked him trying to buy myself time to decide.

He flipped the envelope back around in his hand to read it.

"It's post marked from Prince Badica."

The moment my brain processed what he was telling me, I quickly had the envelope out of his hands.

In the days following the attack, Alexander had disappeared abruptly and I never got the chance to tell him thank you.

Since I was far too interested in its contents, I impatiently took a seat in the lobby and started reading.

**_Dear Rose,_**

**_I apologize for leaving court so abruptly, but I thought it for the best._**

**_I was fortunate enough to help save your life, but one kind act could never erase all of my sins._**

**_I wanted you to know that I never meant to cause your family any pain._**

**_Dimitri is justified in hating me, and I have never given him any reason not to. He is also lucky to have found a spouse as supportive as you are. _**

**_There was a time when I was that lucky as well._**

**_Her name was Katya and to be frank, she saved my life._**

**_Growing up as an only child, my father had great expectations of me. Unfortunately for me I could never live up to them. _**

**_He was a cold and calculating man who never missed an opportunity to belittle me. He claimed I was weak and unfit to lead our family name and over time I came to believe him._**

**_When I met Olena, it was the first time in my life that I didn't feel inadequate. She was beautiful and affectionate and I loved her very much. _**

**_It wasn't until the children got older that I started to lose my sense of worth. I traveled a lot for my father's business and that left Olena on her own with four children._**

**_I would be gone for weeks at a time, only to return and find they hadn't even needed me. _**

**_In my absence Olena had no trouble getting by without me, and over time I came to resent that. I came to resent her. _**

**_Her strength made me feel inferior and I grew to hate her for it. That anger made me lash out at her in an effort to assert my own dominance and at a time in my life where I felt the weakest, I was desperate to feel strong. _**

**_Now in no way does that excuse any of the terrible things I did to her, but it is my hope that this will help you understand._**

**_I wasn't always a monster._**

**_After the incident with Dimitri, my father disowned me. He was humiliated that a son of his could be bested by a small child and he couldn't bear the shame it brought him. _**

**_In the years that followed I had a lot of time to think. I had effectively destroyed my own happiness and I was so sure I could never get it back._**

**_That's when I met Katya. _**

**_Unlike Olena, Katya was a Moroi and she came from a very prominent family. They worked endlessly to turn Katya against from me, but she never wavered. She refused to let them dictate her life and in the process she helped show me my own worth._**

**_She made me realized that it's just as important to value your strengths as it is your weaknesses, and I learned to do just that. _**

**_Together we found that we complimented one another and for the first time in my life I finally felt like someone's equal. _**

**_Katya's love changed me and it made me want to be a better man._**

**_There were several occasions throughout the years where Katya encouraged me to reach out to my family. She longed to see me make amends._**

**_But I was a coward and I let the guilt of my past eat away at me._**

**_For several years we lived a quiet existence and I found a peace I had never known. But fate is a cruel mistress and she saw it fit to take that happiness away._**

**_The day I found Katya in our home with her throat ripped open, I was certain I would die myself. _****_I even wanted to._**

**_But I knew it wasn't what Katya would want for me. She'd want me to keep on living. _**

**_And so I did._**

**_It wasn't easy but I did my best and to honor her wishes I decided to reach out to my family. I was lucky enough to make peace with my own father before he passed and it helped solidify my belief that this was the right decision. That was mere weeks before I ran into Dimitri._**

**_I have to believe that there was a reason for that, and I believe it was Katya's doing._**

**_She's only ever wanted me to find peace and I'm sure you feel the same way towards Dimitri._**

**_I won't presume to believe one well-meaning letter could really change anything, but I have to believe that it's a start. _**

**_Dimitri has grown to be a good man, and while I can take no credit for that, I am proud of him all the same. _**

**_He's going to make a great father to your child; a far better father than I have ever been._**

**_Just take good care of him Rose and promise to always cherish your time together. What the two of you share is a gift and it's important you remember to be grateful for that._**

**_As for me, I will go back to my old life as usual, but should you or Dimitri ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask._**

**_I wish all the best for you and your growing family, now and in all the years to come._**

**_My sincerest regards,_**

**_Alexander Badica_**

"Whatcha got there?" Dimitri asked completely catching me by surprise.

I had been so engrossed in Alexander's letter that I hadn't even heard him walk in.

I was still sitting in the lobby of our building and wondered if this was really the best place to tell him about this. I also didn't want to spoil his good mood.

We were supposed to head back to Lissa's soon, and I didn't want this to put a damper on the Christmas festivities. But if I was going to insist Dimitri not keep secrets from me, then it was only right I do the same.

After a little apprehension I handed over the letter. Dimitri smiled at me curiously before he read who it was postmarked from and his eyes darted back up to mine. Much to my surprise, he handed it right back to me.

"I don't need to read this." He said, taking my hand to lead me upstairs.

"Are you sure?"

It wasn't like I felt like he owed it to Alexander to read it, but more like he owed it to himself. He deserved a chance to understand.

There was a time in my life when I'd had parental conflict of my own, but Dimitri had encouraged me to my mother another chance. Our relationship still wasn't easy, but I'd always been glad I had listened to him.

And I wanted him to listen to me now.

"I'm positive Roza. I appreciate what he did for you and our child, but it doesn't change anything. It doesn't erase the damage he did to my mother."

But before I could argue it further he suddenly remembered he had somewhere to be.

How convenient.

Well fine, two could play this game.

If Dimitri wanted to make this about his mother, then I knew just the person I needed to talk to.

And I picked up the phone and called Olena.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think, should Dimitri read the letter?<strong>

**Reviews Please : )**


	25. Chapter 25

**DPOV**

As a guardian, I'd never cared much for surprises.

In our line of work, a surprise could be the death of me. Surprises made you vulnerable and left you open to attack.

Of all the people in the world, I'd expect Rose to understand that better than anyone. But if that were true then we wouldn't be doing this right now.

"Oh for the love of God Comrade, quit your whining already! One little surprise never killed anyone."

She couldn't see it through my blindfold but I was rolling my eyes.

"I beg to differ." I grumbled, knowing full well it was a useless argument. Once Rose got an idea in her head there was no changing it.

I knew that she had heard me, but she chose not to dignify me with a response.

"It's your birthday Dimitri; can't you at least pretend to enjoy this? Lissa went to a lot of trouble to throw you this party, and it would break her heart to know you hated it."

What I hated was when she did that! She always knew the best way to get to me, and in this case, it was using my own guilt against me.

But that was Roza for you.

No one ever claimed the woman played fair.

Rose had figured out years ago that I despised celebrating my birthday. I just didn't see the point. It was ten days before Christmas and that had always worked against my favor.

While all the other kids at my school got to celebrate with parties and their friends, my birthday always fell during Christmas break when the school had let out for the holidays.

My mother always did her best to make it special, but for a boy stuck in a house with 5 women, sometimes all I really wanted was a little more testosterone around.

Just another one of the many ways Alexander's absence had screwed me…

Despite all my arguments to the contrary, I just couldn't seem curb my curiosity. Ever since that letter came, it was all I could think about.

It didn't help that Roza left the damn thing out for me in plain sight. She wanted me to read it, and I was coming dangerously close to cracking.

More than anything I wanted an explanation, especially after he'd acted to selflessly to save Roza. But more than that, I wanted to stay angry with him, because anything less felt like a betrayal.

I couldn't do that to my mother. Not after everything that man did to her.

"Okay we're here." Rose announced, pulling me to a stop.

With the blindfold still in place, she leaned up on her toes to kiss me and I decided to take advantage.

If I was going to be forced to endure a night of birthday festivities, then I was at least going to have a little fun before I doing it.

Much to Rose's surprise, I threw a little more passion into the kiss then the setting warranted. Wrapping one arm securely around her waist, I let the other one grab hold of her neck. As the kissing intensified I let my hands roam and tangle themselves in her hair while Rose's body melted into mine. I waited just long enough to know that Rose was lost it in before I abruptly ended the kiss.

I heard Rose gaps in protest and a victorious smile crept onto my lips.

"Ass!" Rose said smacking me playfully in the arm; although Rose's version of playful still packed a mean punch.

"I'll make it up to you later." I whispered huskily, and thanks to our close proximity, I got the satisfaction of feeling her shudder.

"Damn right you will."

I was still busy chuckling at her disgruntled tone when she led me through the now open door.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled and I used the hand that wasn't holding Rose's to release the blindfold.

As my eyes came into focus, I scanned the crowded room that was filled with my loved ones, and was surprised by a few of the faces I found.

"Mama?" I asked in shock, even though I was certain it was her.

"There's my birthday boy!" She grinned widely, locking her smaller arms around me in a tight grip.

I turned to look at Rose and found she was watching our exchange fondly, and slightly smug.

"I told you not all surprises were a bad thing."

Shaking my head I smiled, before mouthing 'thank you' over the top of my mother's head.

When my mother finally released me, I saw a toddle of brown curls come barreling over to me.

"Happy Birthday Uncle Dimka!" Zoya shouted as I scooped her up off the ground. Behind her I saw Karolina walking over. "Where's Paul?" I asked when she was close enough to do so.

She and Mama exchanged a knowing look and laughed.

"You shouldn't have to look too hard. Just find the closest girl his age." Mama chuckled.

"He may look like you did at that age Dimka, but he's more charming than you were. I swear we have to beat the girls off of him with a stick!" Karolina added and beside me I heard Rose giggle.

I gave her a look of mock hurt and she made an effort to stifle her laughs.

Effort being the operative word there…

The usual gang was all present as well, along with a few other additions. Since it was now Christmas break, Eddie and Jill had returned from Lehigh to spend the holidays.

Both of Rose's parents had returned to town, and I suspected they were the one's responsible for flying in my family. As nice as it would have been to have the whole family here, we were short a few people. Sonya hadn't been able to get the time off of work so soon after the wedding and Yeva had stayed behind to help her with her child.

As the party moved into full swing, it did so in Lissa-like fashion Rose wasn't kidding when she said Lissa had went all out.

For most of the evening we all chatted lightly and after a delicious dinner of Christian's bacon wrapped meatloaf, they all insisted I open my presents.

Like most of the things I wanted, my gifts were pretty practical; a couple of new shirts, a few new western's and Rose had even managed to find a collector's edition of every John Wayne cowboy movie ever made.

But when it seemed that all of the presents had been unwrapped, Adrian announced he had one last gift to deliver.

"I know how disappointed you both were when you couldn't find out the sex of your baby, but it just so happens I can help with that."

"Seriously?" Rose blurted out excitedly before glancing down at her large belly. "How!"

Adrian's grin widened into a full blown smile after exchanging a knowing look with Sonya Karp.

"Aura's Little Dhamphir. I can see your baby's Aura."

Rose sat there gaping at him with an open mouth.

"You mean to tell me you've known this whole time and you never said anything?" She asked in mock outrage.

At least I think it was mock outrage…these days it was hard to tell.

But either way, her mood didn't faze Adrian. Nothing usually did.

"Not all along, but for a few weeks, yeah."

"Why the hell wouldn't you say something?" Rose yelled at him shooting to her feet.

Yep….definitely not mock outrage. She was genuinely pissed.

"Because I wanted it to be a surprise. Besides, there's no way I could have bought Dimitri a better gift then telling him he's having a son."

_A son!_

Rose, who was still standing dropped one hand to her large stomach and when I turned to look at her I found there were tears in her eyes.

"We're having a son" she murmured softly, and a few of the tears escaped her eyes.

I was just as emotionally chocked up as she was, so I couldn't even tease her about the tears. Instead I just looked back at my beautiful wife adoringly and smiled.

"We're having a son Milaya." And I pressed a loving kiss to her full and smiling lips.

* * *

><p><strong>Olena's POV<strong>

As I watched my son and his wife rejoice in their good news, I couldn't help but smile.

Those two had searched long and hard to find happiness, and I could think of no two people more deserving of it.

As a mother, you only want what's best for your child, and the day I met Roza, I knew Dimka had found it. Of course at the time, I thought he had found her too late.

To some mothers, their age difference would have been troublesome, but it never bothered me. Even at such a young age, I knew Rose was every bit Dimka's equal.

She shared his strength and perseverance, not to mention his blind devotion. She had foolishly followed my boy to the ends of the earth, all to fulfill some unspoken promise. And even though that the promise was the reason I had him back today, it had been foolish all the same. She was just a child at the time and I could hardly believe it when Yeva told me.

Yes, finding Roza was the best thing that ever happened to my boy, and I was grateful for it every day. The love and joy she brought to him brought back the son I hadn't seen in years.

Not since Alexander.

It's the reason why when Rose called me recently I was speechless. It had been years since I'd thought of Alexander and I didn't quite know how to feel about it now.

Rose had told me what he had done for her and my childhood, and I was truly relieved. There was a time in my life when I had thought him a good man and it was nice to know that man still existed.

She also told me of the letter he sent and Dimka's reluctance to read it.

My boy was loyal to a fault and it wasn't difficult to understand his reasoning.

By reading that letter, he was opening up the possibility for forgiveness, and to do so would feel like a betrayal to me.

_My foolish boy._

Until his son was born he could never understand this, but in time I knew he would. All any good parent wants if for their child to know peace, and if reading that letter would give him that, then so be it.

When the evening finally began to wind down, I suggested we take a walk.

The Moroi Court was a beautiful place and I'd had little opportunity in my life to explore it.

For most, the frigid December air would be uncomfortable, but it did little to bother me. I suppose that's one of the benefits that come from living in the tundra.

As we walked along the cobblestone paths, I let him point out his favorite places. The Moroi Court was rich with history and Dimka seemed well informed about all of it.

_My little bookworm._

But after a while, my legs grew weary, and we took up residence on a bench that overlooked a large fountain. Only after we had both settled in comfortably did I pull out the envelope.

He turned to look at me in mild curiosity and his eyes hardened when he realized what I was holding.

"That letter is of no interest to me." He said stubbornly. "It changes nothing."

"How can you be sure?" I challenged and he deliberately rolled his eyes.

I gave him a chastising slap on the head for disrespecting me and he offered an embarrassed smile. I didn't care how many birthdays he had, he'd never be too old for me to bend over my knee.

"I'm sorry Mama, but I see no point in reading it. It won't erase what he did."

"Be that as it may, it doesn't mean the letter has no purpose." I argued and he let out a dejected sigh.

"He doesn't deserve our forgiveness Mama, not after everything he put you through."

And when the words left his mouth, I knew Roza was right. He was doing this for me, out of loyalty.

"There are many things in my life that I'm not proud of, but being your mother isn't one of them. Reading that letter won't make you a bad son Dimka, it never could. What it can do however is bring you peace of mind. In just a few short months you'll have a son of your own, and finding closure may just make you a better father."

I could tell his resolve was wavering, but the next question he asked still surprised me.

"Have you forgiven him?" he asked.

And it wasn't until that moment that I realized I had.

I wasn't angry anymore and I didn't harbor any ill will. I had made peace with my past and I wanted my son to do the same.

It took me a few seconds to realize he was still waiting, but once I did I answered honestly.

"Yes, I have forgiven him. And it's made all the difference in the world. I'm not angry anymore Dimka and I am a better person for it. Just read the letter son…please. Read it and try to do the same."

I watched him wage an internal war before he gave me a timid smile.

"If that's what you really want." He sighed and I stood up and kissed his forehead.

Just as I was about to walk away, he grabbed my hand to stop me.

"I love you Mama….and thank you."

I looked back at my boy fondly and I just knew; it wouldn't matter if he was 8 or 28, that boy will always melt my heart.

"I love you too Son. Take your time; you know where to find me."

And with one last tender smile, I left him to it.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay people, sound off on your thoughts. Are you glad Rose and Dimitri are having a boy?<strong>

**Reviews Please : )**


	26. Chapter 26

**RPOV**

Despite all his efforts to convince me otherwise, I knew Dimitri had enjoyed his birthday.

The party had been a huge success, not to mention the awesome gift Adrian had given us! My cheeks still hurt from smiling at the thought of having my own mini Dimitri, and even I had to admit, Dimitri had made a pretty compelling argument.

I had been hell on wheels as a teenager, and the world was probably a lot safer with just one Rose Hathaway on the loose.

I had beautiful god daughter I could shower with love whenever I needed a girly fix, and besides, if I changed my mind later, we could always try for a girl next time.

_Holy shit, did I just say that?_

The Rose Hathaway of my youth would be screaming expletives if she could hear me right now.

I guess that just goes to show how much we've really all changed.

Dimitri hadn't said much to me after he'd returned home from his walk that night, but judging by the passionate way he'd made love to me, I assumed the talk with his mother went well.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but I knew better than to press Dimitri. He would come to me if and when he was ready, and in the meantime…I could always ask Olena.

She had made plans to stay with us through the holidays, and I planned to take full advantage of the opportunity. I still had a lot to learn about being a mother, and Olena is one of the best mothers I know.

She was also a mean cook, and this grandson of hers was just begging for some real Russian home cooking.

And maybe his hungry mom was as well…

Lucky for both of us, Olena felt most at home in a kitchen and she didn't need to be asked twice. That's what she was busy doing now, while Lissa and Sydney had set up shop here to multi-task.

Not only had they taken up residence in my living room to wrap Christmas presents, they were also making plans for Juliet's christening.

As her god mother I felt like I should be contributing more to their conversation, but I was just too distracted.

_How could one tiny person possibly be so cute?_

It was a question I couldn't help pondering as I made googily eyes at Juliet. She squirmed and cooed and I even swore that she smiled, but Sydney insisted I was just imagining it.

"She really is quite beautiful." Olena remarked as she startled me from behind.

I had been so busy fawning over Juliet that I hadn't even heard her approach.

_Talk about being off my game! _

If she had been a Strigoi, we'd all be dead right now!

"They did good work." I smirked, shooting a glance in Sydney's direction and Olena chuckled softly beside me. She reached down towards Juliet's tiny hands and she made a small fist around Olena's finger.

"Can you believe how soon you'll have a little one of your own?"

It may not feel like it some days, but the time was definitely flying by.

"Nope. Although I have my suspicions that any son of Dimitri's won't be very little."

I grimaced just thinking about the beating my body would take and Olena laughed loudly beside me.

"Not if he take's after his father." She said, confirming my fears.

There were a lot of advantages that came from being married to a 6'7 Russian god, but bearing his children wasn't one of them.

Olena seemed to pick up on my growing unease and she patted my shoulder affectionately.

"Trust me Roza, the moment you hold that beautiful boy in your arms, all the pain that you felt will be worth it."

I only had to look at Juliet to know that was true.

As much as I loved the little girl in front of me, I knew it would pale in comparison to the love I felt for my own child.

I continued to rock Juliet softly in my arms and when her eyes finally closed, I followed Olena into the kitchen.

Tonight was our Christmas Eve dinner and Olena had put herself in charge of the feast. Christian had been reluctant to hand over his chef hat and apron, but there was no arguing with Olena Belikova when it came to the kitchen.

That woman was a force to be reckoned with.

"I don't suppose you need a taste tester…" I asked, sticking my finger in her mixing bowl for a quick lick.

She swatted my hand away playfully before she laughed.

"Honestly Roza, you're as bad as Dimka!" she chastised me fondly. "He could never keep his hands away either."

My smile widened the way it always did when I heard stories of Little Dimitri. They were such a stark contrast to the stoic man I knew today.

"It would be a lot easier if it didn't smell so good!" I told her, inhaling the heavenly scent of Russian cuisine.

It was hard to believe there was a time when I turned my nose up at it, but I had long since learned, there was nothing Olena Belikova could that I wouldn't like.

"Perhaps what you need is a distraction. I've got a loaf of black bread that still needs to be made."

Taking the hint, I moved around the kitchen collecting ingredients.

I was hardly what one would call a culinary genius, but I'd made it a point to learn how to make this. Olena's black bread was one of Dimitri's favorites, and after tasting it when I met her in Baia, I knew why.

All it took was one bite and I was hooked.

For a while I worked in companionable silence with my mother in law, and let my mind wander to other things.

Ever since the attack before Thanksgiving, things have been eerily serene.

Now if I was a normal person, I'd be enjoying the peace, but all it really did was keep me on edge. I'd learned at a young age that the world was a cruel and ambiguous place, and as a result, I lacked the ability to live life naively. There would plenty of people who could carry on in blissful ignorance, but I had never been one of them.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" Olena asked, and I snapped out of my haze to look at her. She was wearing that same look of motherly concern she always wore when something with troubling me.

Apparently the ability to read my mind was a Belikov trait, because she was just as good at doing it as Dimitri. I could have tried to lie and told her nothing, but I knew she'd see right thought it.

Like mother like son I guess.

"I was just wondering how long the peace will last. Tasha came for me once, and she'll do it again. My only question now is when."

When my eyes met Olena's, I could read the sympathy in them. After wiping her flour covered hands off on her apron, she hugged me tenderly.

"Try not to think about it that way. In a world that has given you so much suffering; you have also been equally blessed. This life you have been given is a gift, and to spend your time worrying is to squander it. Peace isn't a destination Roza; it's a state of mind. The future is uncertain for all of us, which is why we should try to make every moment count."

_Zen life lessons from the Belikov's._

I guess that's where Dimitri gets it.

"It's not that simple." I told her, and it really wasn't.

"Tasha is still out there, and she has her sights set on this baby. I can protect him now while he's still in me, but what happens when he's born? Dimitri and I both have a charge to look after; we can't watch him every second of the day. And sure we can put him in daycare, but do you really think any of those guardians will protect him with their life? To them he's just another Dhamphir child, but to us, he's our whole life! I can't choose between him and Lissa and I can't keep them both safe. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, and as long as Tasha is still out there, I'm stuck this way."

By the end of my rant, I had tears in my eyes and Olena cupped my cheeks in her palms gently.

Unlike my own mother, Olena was nurturing and her love and support always calmed me. She was exactly the kind of mother I hoped to someday be, and I suddenly wished there was some way for her to stay longer. There was just so much I could learn from her.

"I know its overwhelming Roza, but I believe in you." She smiled kindly. "You may have to get a little creative, but that's never been a problem for you before." She winked. "I have no doubts that you'll find a way to make this work, and who knows, you might even find a little help along your way."

There was something about the way her eyes twinkled that gave me hope, and I let her wipe away the remaining tears from my eyes.

"Thank you." I murmured into her shoulder as she pulled me back to her chest tightly.

"What are mothers for?" she chuckled softly as she smoothed back out her apron. Wiping the last of the tears from my cheek, she straightened up and smiled. "Now let's get back to work."

* * *

><p>When we arrived at Lissa's party that night, I couldn't believe it.<p>

If there was one thing I'd learned from being an honorary Dragomir, it's that you never skimp on Christmas. No one did the holidays quite like the Dragomir's, and Lissa had been hell bent on continuing the tradition.

In the four years that she'd been Queen, she'd made Christmas the "it" event of the season, but this year she had really outdone herself. And this was just the warm up.

Tonight's dinner was just for close family and friends, while tomorrow was the Grand Christmas Ball. I could only imagine what that would look like…

In the center of Lissa's living room stood a staggeringly tall Christmas tree that had been trimmed to perfection. A seemingly endless mountain of gifts were stacked below it and even extended out into the walk way.

The warm scent of cinnamon stirred my senses, and it complimented the ambience of the Christmas lights nicely.

Everywhere I looked I found red, green, and gold, and when my eyes landed on the fireplace I grinned widely. In addition to the usual stockings that donned the mantle, there now hung a tiny bright pink one.

"I'll give you one guess who picked that out." I told Dimitri as I nudged him in the direction of Juliet's stocking. I knew the exact moment when he saw it because he smiled.

"Let's just hope for Juliet's sake, Lissa's own baby is a girl." Dimitri chuckled lightly and I joined in.

Lissa was the queen of pink and she never missed an opportunity to remind us.

"Thank god this little guy is a boy." I told him patting my large belly. "I like pink just as much as the next girl, but in moderation; and that's not something Lissa understands the meaning of."

As if to prove my point, Lissa emerged from the bedroom holding poor Juliet who was dressed in a pink and white Santa suit and hat.

Dimitri laughed loudly and pressed a kiss to my temple.

"I'll second that."

I was still gaping at my surroundings when I noticed my parents start approaching.

Even after 4 years, it still felt weird to see them together.

They liked to pretend their relationship was strictly platonic, but they weren't fooling anyone. My mother had resigned from a well-respected post guarding a lord to follow around my globe-trotting mobster of a father.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"Merry Christmas Rosemarie" My father smiled brightly.

He knew how much I hated when he called me that.

"Merry Christmas Old Man."

His eyes narrowed marginally and I smiled at my small victory. I knew he hated that nickname just as much.

But despite our usual snippy banter, I hugged him back enthusiastically. He was a pain in my ass, but I loved him, and I was happy to see him for the holidays.

He shook Dimitri's hand as usual, while I exchanged an awkward hug with my mother.

Unlike with my father, our relationship was far less strained than it used to be, but we still weren't close by any means. I used to take it personally as a child, but I'd learned a thing or two since then. She did her best to be an affectionate mother now, but that just wasn't Janine Hathaway's style, and I'd come to accept that.

"So…" Abe started conversationally as he glanced around at the decorations. "It seems her majesty was feeling rather…festive this year."

Behind me heard Christian snort before joining in the conversation.

"That's just a polite way of saying it looks like Santa's workshop threw up in here."

_Well at least some one seemed willing to say it._

"I wouldn't let your wife hear you say that." I warned.

It was out of character to take Sparky's side on anything, but on this we had to agree. Lissa had definitely gone overboard with the decorations.

"It's Juliet's first Christmas." Dimitri reminded us eyeing his god daughter affectionately. "She just wanted to make this special."

"Oh dear god" I muttered. "Can you imagine how bad she'll be next year when there are two more babies to celebrate?"

Christian wore a look of mock horror, but I could see the excitement behind his eyes. He was loving the idea just as much as I was.

"Speaking of babies, maybe you should go rescue Juliet. Lissa has been parading her around like a doll for the last hour."

I spotted the little pink bundle in Lissa's arms and sighed.

"Poor kid."

I reached up on my tip toes to kiss Dimitri's cheek before making my way over to my best friend. It wasn't until I had Juliet out of Lissa's arms and in mine that I realized what had just happened.

I had glanced back in Dimitri's direction only to find him huddled in serious conversation with Christian and my parent's.

_So help me god if they are still keeping secrets…_

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh...is Dimitri still keeping secrets? What do you think they're all up to now? And how much do you love Olena Belikova...I know I do!<strong>

**Don't forget to review! : )**


	27. Chapter 27

**DPOV**

"What's this all about?" I asked.

The moment Rose had stepped away I noticed a change in Christian's demeanor.

"We caught a lead." He said abruptly as he ushered us to the side of the room.

Up until this moment, I hadn't even realized he was still looking. I knew the efforts to find Tasha hadn't been halted all together, but Christian and I had both agreed our attention was better spent at home.

If we hadn't gone running off to play detective, we would have been there the night of the attack. Rose and our son had nearly died because of it and I wouldn't make that mistake again. Sure it wasn't easy riding the bench on this one, but it was the right thing to do.

"What kind of a lead?" I asked warily.

I didn't want to get my hopes up unless it was good.

"It's pretty solid." Abe announced and I realized he was in on this too. "Nina may have betrayed her own kind, but she's only loyal to herself. All it took was one well-crafted plea bargain and she started signing like a bird."

_Huh. I guess that explains it._

I was wondering about the hold up where her execution was concerned. This explained why.

"She gave us the names and addresses of every accomplice she could think of and Han's has already sent us on several recon missions." Janine continued for them.

_Seriously, was everyone in on this except for me?_

Shaking off my irritation I turned to look at her.

"What did you find?"

"There's a Strigoi safe house about an hour outside of the city, and we've determined they are using it as a point of contact. We found a lot of similar information there to the Intel we recovered at Natasha's place last month and we believe that to be their home base. We've been staking it out for a few days now, and have seen several Strigoi come and go from there. We've also noticed the number of the Strigoi in the area has doubled in the last 24 and we have reason to believe they are gearing up for something." Janine explained while Abe rubbed his beard deep in thought.

"Any idea what they're preparing for?" I asked.

Surely they had some idea what this was about or they would have launched an attack already.

"The calendar on the wall circled New Year's Eve." Christian stated grimly, and I knew exactly why.

They were planning another attack for the New Year's Eve ball.

My mind immediately flashed on the memory of last month's attack, and remembering the carnage made me shudder.

"We can't let them get that close to court again, no matter how prepared we might be."

"And we're not going to." Abe announced flatly, and I knew he was worried about Rose as well.

His expression was hostile but I knew it wasn't directed at me. Abe Mazur was a man with a lot of unsavory qualities, but his protective nature towards his daughter wasn't one of them.

Janine, who could sense his unease rubbed soothing circles into his back.

"Abe's right, we won't let that happen again, and Han's has devised a plan to make sure of it."

* * *

><p>The rest of Christmas Eve played out without a hitch.<p>

We all enjoyed my mother's home cooked meal before exchanging our gifts in the annual Secret Santa. It was a tradition Lissa started a few years ago in an effort to minimize our gift lists. Not all of us were trust fund children, and the extended family we had built for ourselves was quite extensive. We had learned the hard way after the first year that Christmas could get pretty costly, and this had been Lissa's solution to that.

Despite my preoccupation with the information I'd learned earlier, I was so sure I had hid my concern well. Rose however, made it quite clear to me otherwise.

The moment our front door closed behind us, she stalked off to the bedroom.

I watched her go carrying the weight of my guilt and I knew I couldn't keep this a secret. After making two cups of her favorite hot chocolate, I called her out into the living room.

She had already changed into her pajamas and when she settled on the couch, she pulled a large fleece blanket around her tightly. I would have preferred she seek warmth in my arms, but I knew that wasn't going to happen until she got answers.

The whole apartment was dark aside from the lights of the Christmas tree, and the crackling of the logs in our fireplace was the only sound that could be heard.

She was sipping on her cocoa seeming the picture of patience, but I could see the anger that simmered quietly under the surface.

After mentally praying this wouldn't ruin Christmas, I decided it was time to explain.

"Christian told me they found a lead on Tasha."

Rose's eyes darted in my direction at the mention of Tasha's name, and I knew I now had her full attention.

After relaying the same information to her that I'd learned earlier that night, she sighed loudly.

"So what's the plan?" She asked.

_This was the part that got tricky._

"Han's wants to wait until the day before their attack. According to the recon team, more Strigoi are arriving every day. The longer we wait, the better our chances of catching them all in the same place." I explained and she nodded her head in understanding.

"Attacking them on their turf gives us the element of surprise, not to mention it keeps court at a safe distance." She mused. "It's a solid strategy, but it will require a lot of muscle."

I nodded in agreement with her, and I noticed when her eyes widened slightly. Rose was a clever guardian and she could see where this was going.

"With that many guardians away from court, what are we doing for protection? It's too big a risk just to leave a handful of guardian's behind. If luring everyone to their safe house is some kind of trap, then court will be left more or less defenseless."

_Damn she was sexy when she talked military strategy. _

Shaking away my inappropriate thoughts, I answered her.

"Which is why we're evacuating court."

Judging by the shocked look on her face, she wasn't expecting this, but once she recovered her curious eyes told me to continue.

"Abe managed to find a large enough property off of the grid that can accommodate most of court. We're not sure if they have eyes on us, so the only way to get there is to use the court's jet. It's on warded property and the Strigoi won't be able to see it come and go. And even if they could, they can't follow it on foot. It will land on warded ground as well. The only problem is that it will take several trips to evacuate court, so some people will be asked to leave as early as tomorrow."

Rose seemed to be mulling this information over when she thought of something.

"Why do I get the feeling you won't be one of the handful of guardian's staying behind?" She asked.

There was a wistful undercurrent to her tone and I knew she had little to no hope that I was about to contradict her.

With a heavy sigh I took the mug of coco out of her hands and placed it on the coffee table. Once her hands were empty, I replaced them with mine.

"My combat experience make's staying behind out of the question. They are going to need skilled fighters, and the more experience, the better. If it weren't for your condition, you'd be in that group as well."

Rose searched my face suspiciously, looking for some sign of condescension, but she wouldn't find any. I wasn't praising her abilities just to placate her; I meant every word I said.

Rose was fierce in battle and there was no denying that. She fought with a precision and grace that few could master and I was incredibly proud of her for that. Her skill surpassed most guardian's twice her age, and I could think of no one better to fight a long side with.

"I suppose that mean's my mother will be going as well."

I nodded meekly, knowing there was still more to say.

"Your father as well; along with a few other fire users."

When I looked into her eyes, I noticed they were glistening with tears.

"Great. Anyone else I should know about?" She asked.

I sighed heavily, almost afraid to look at her.

"Adrian's tagging along too."

Her eyes that were previously full of tears now look outraged.

"What! Who the hell agreed to that? Adrian's a spirit user, how's he supposed to defend himself with that? He'll get killed!" She shouted.

Her small fists were clenched and shaking with anger, so I used my larger ones to cover hers tightly. When I felt her hands start to steady and still, I released them.

"He won't be in any immediate danger." I reassured her. "There is a dirt road about a mile from the house and Adrian will wait behind in a van with a few guardians. He may not be a fighter, be he is a healer, and that could come in handy on this mission."

Despite her clear disapproval, she couldn't argue with the reasoning. With a defeated sigh she leaned over and curled her body into mine. Pulling the blanket back around her tightly, we sat quietly and watched the fire.

"How soon do we leave?" She spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"You'll be in one of the last groups to go. But I'll make the trip up there with you to get you settled in."

Rose twisted her body in my arms to turn around and face me.

"Do you really think this will work? I mean it's a pretty bold plan. I'm actually surprised that it was Han's to come up with it. The man is pretty old school, and he tends to play it close to home." She pointed out.

"True, but I think last month's attack was eye opening."

Han's may be what Rose considered 'Old School', but unlike some guardian's his age, he didn't believe our ways were set in stone.

Strigoi had grown bolder over the years, and their new found ability to work in large numbers made tactical advancements a necessity.

The times were changing, and Han's chose to change with them.

"You never mentioned if Christian's planning on going…" She probed lightly.

At least this time I wouldn't have to disappoint her again.

"No, not this time. The added stress would be too much for Lissa." I told her.

"But not for me." She said flatly.

The lack of emotion in her voice made it tough to read her.

Was that a question or a statement?

"If there was any way I could spare you the worry too, I would do it; but we both know that's not an option." I told her honestly.

She had to know I would stay behind with her if I could.

She nodded her head slightly in understanding and I continued.

"Besides, I think it goes without saying that you are far better equipped to handle this. Lissa isn't as strong as you and Sydney. She couldn't handle the added stress of losing Christian on top of everything else."

She twisted back around to face the fire and leaned into me.

"This sucks." She muttered under her breath and the action made me chuckle slightly.

She could feel the rumble underneath my chest and she spun back around to glare at me.

"You find this funny?" she asked. "Well laugh it up Scrooge, because you just destroyed Christmas!"

And I felt the weight of her words when I realized they were true. I had ruined Christmas for her.

"Would you rather I kept it a secret?" I asked. "Because I distinctly remember you putting a ban on that."

She rolled her beautiful brown eyes at me and snorted.

"Nice try Comrade, but you ruined Christmas and you know it." She said, retrieving her cup of coco from the table.

"Stupid Grinch." She muttered into the brim of the mug she was drinking.

I pushed a piece of stray hair away from her face and tucked it gently behind her ear. When my palm came in contact with her cheek, she leaned into it. Her eyes closed and she let out a weary sigh.

"I wonder if this is how crappy Lissa feels every time we leave her behind, and if so, she deserves a lot more credit than we give her. I'm really not sure I can bear being left behind."

"And I'm not sure I can bear to leave you; especially after last time."

I shuttered just thinking about it.

She looked deep into my eyes and stroked my cheek lightly.

"We'll find a way to do this." She stated firmly. "We always do."

Her voice would have sounded convincing if I hadn't known better. She didn't feel any better about this than I did.

Wrapping both of her arms around my neck, she pulled us closer.

"Just promise me you'll be careful." She whispered. "I can't raise this baby without you."

"And you won't have to. I promise."

It wasn't the kind of promise I could keep, but she needed to hear it all the same.

Smiling she straightened up a bit in my arms.

"Good, because there are about a billion boy things he's going to need you around for. I mean seriously Comrade, what do I know about peeing standing up?" She asked and I couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Sure I can throw a mean spiral, and we both know I'm as bad as a fighter as you are, but how will that help me in his teen years? I really don't want to be responsible for talking to our son his sex life or explaining the purpose behind nude magazines." She shuddered eliciting more laughter from me.

"I plan on leaving all those lovely awkward moments up to you." She winked and I let out a throaty laugh.

"Fair enough." I told her chuckling. "Just know that when he gets a little sister, the rules will change. I am equally horrified at the thought of going bra shopping or trying to explain menstruation."

Now it was Rose's turn to laugh loudly.

"Okay Comrade, you've got yourself a deal."

And after sealing it with a kiss, we called it a night.

Tomorrow was Christmas morning and I fully intended to enjoy it. This time next year we'd be celebrating our son's first Christmas and I had every intention of seeing it.

Come hell or high water, there was no way I was missing that.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, what are your predictions? Is this plan crazy enough to work? <strong>

**Leave lots of reviews please! It's almost Christmas and I'd really like to see this story get to 300 : )**


	28. Chapter 28

**RPOV**

Just as Dimitri promised, we were the last group to go.

After making every effort to avoid the inevitable, we were forced to face the truth.

What Dimitri and the other guardians were attempting was unprecedented and dangerous, and in all likely not everyone would make it back alive.

The estate Abe had procured was more than large enough to house court, but for me the confinement was insufferable.

How was I expected to stay behind when I could lose almost everyone I love? It was the question I'd been asking myself for days and I still didn't have my answer.

We put off the evacuation for as long as possible, but when the 30th rolled around, it was time to go.

Dimitri made good on his promise to help me get settled, and we all agreed to have breakfast together the next morning.

In an effort to keep everyone calm and at ease, Lissa decided to continue her New Year's Eve traditions. Tonight's event wouldn't be as fancy as a grand ball back at court, but the party would suffice as a decent enough distraction.

At least for most people anyway.

I myself had no interest in attending and no desire to celebrate; not without Dimitri. What was the point of New Year's if you couldn't kiss the man you loved at midnight?

Dimitri and I would just have our own belated celebration later.

Olena, being the saint that she is agreed to postpone her return to Baia. Dimitri and I had both assure her it wasn't necessary, but she wouldn't even hear it.

We could have fought her harder if we wanted to, but truthfully I didn't. If Olena wanted to stay behind, then I would gladly accept her company, plus I think it gave Dimitri some peace of mind.

My own mother however, was acting completely out of character.

_*Flashback*_

_By the time we reached the estate that night, it was a pretty unreasonable hour. I hadn't been expecting any visitors, so I was more than surprised to hear a sharp knock at the door._

"_Mom?" I asked opening the door to reveal my mother._

_She was standing in the doorway looking incredibly uneasy and it put all my senses on red alert._

"_Is everything okay?" _

_She shuffled her weight from one leg to the other before Dimitri came to stand behind me. He looked as genuinely shocked to see her as I was._

"_Everything's fine." My mother assured us. "I was just hoping I could speak to my daughter in private."_

_She gave Dimitri a meaningful look and he nodded his head in understanding._

"_I've got a few last minute details I need to tie up." He lied smoothly before pressing a quick kiss to my temple. "I'll be back soon."_

_Once Dimitri was gone I let my mother inside. Seeking out the most uncomfortable looking chair in the room, she sat down awkwardly._

_She seemed so unsure of herself and it was completely out of character for Janine Hathaway. My mother was the kind of woman that oozed effortless confidence, but you wouldn't know it to look at her now. _

_When I could no longer bear the silence I spoke up._

"_What's going on mom?"_

_I hadn't meant to sound so snappy but it was late and I was exhausted, not to mention incredibly stressed._

"_Can't a mother just want to see her daughter?" She asked, and I could tell she was slightly offended._

"_Sure she can." I said eyeing her suspiciously. "It's just kind of weird when that mother is you…" I trailed off, not wanting to offend her again. "I mean girl talk was never really our thing." I explained._

_I could see her irritation still rising and she was working very hard to fight it. _

_As much as we loved each other, we just couldn't seem to get along. No one could push my buttons quite like my mother, and clearly the feeling was mutual. _

"_Yes well I'm not here for girl talk" she clarified flatly. "I'm here as a guardian."_

_Figures._

_Hell would probably freeze over before Janine took a maternal interest in me._

"_Well then don't just sit there Guardian Hathaway, what's this official business?"_

_Another spark of irritation flashed in her blue eyes and she huffed loudly._

"_The formality is unnecessary Rosemarie; I just wanted to make sure you feel ready. We don't anticipate anything going wrong, but in the event that it does, you should be prepared. It'll be harder to fight in your condition, but your fellow guardians will need all the help they can get."_

"_Duly noted." I told her._

_What she lacked in maternal instincts, she made up for in battle, and I wasn't the least bit surprised she'd shown up at my door at this hour to talk strategy. _

_Janine was nothing if not consistent._

"_Anything else?" I asked._

_She bit her lower lip in hesitation looking nervous again. _

_What was going on with her tonight?_

_Clearly she had more on her mind, but she struggled to find the words she was looking for._

"_Do you have any questions you want to ask me?" She asked, but I just looked at her dumbfounded. _

"_Only why you're acting so weird…"_

_Once the words left my mouth I could practically see her slam her guardian mask into place. Any trace of nerves and insecurity vanished and were replaced by the stone cold face I'd always known._

_Now this was the Janine Hathaway I was used to._

"_Okay good." She told me rising from her chair, using her hands to smooth out the wrinkles in her shirt. "I'll just leave you to it then." _

_And she left the room._

_*End Flashback*_

Dimitri returned home not long after that, but he didn't ask any questions. If he found anything weird about my mother's visit, he didn't show it.

Instead we spent the rest of the night making love and making promises. Dimitri swore he'd come back to me in once piece and I fully intended to hold him to that.

Breakfast came and went quickly, and all too soon we were saying our goodbyes.

"As Juliet's god mother, I expect you to pull your weight around here." Adrian teased. "I'm counting on you to keep my girls safe."

"Don't I always?" I teased back.

Adrian smiled at the truth in my words warmly before hugging me one last time and making his way over to Sydney.

All around us others were saying their goodbyes and my family would be no different.

Once Adrian cleared the path to me my parent's walked over.

"This may be difficult for you Little Girl, but try to keep your nose clean while we're gone. You've been a bit of a handful lately." Abe smirked and I had to resist the urge to hit him.

"That's pretty funny coming from the man who once used C4 to blow up court."

Both Abe and Dimitri laughed as we recalled the memory. That was the day I realized just how reckless and well connected my father really is.

It takes a special kind of crazy to pull off a stunt like that.

"True, but my experimentation in explosives doesn't hold a candle to your prison break. Only a true master of mischief could manage to smuggle a person out of Tarasov. It's quite impressive really."

"More like utterly reckless." My mother chimed in. "And it's exactly the kind of behavior that were discouraging." She added.

"Hey, it's your fault I turned out like this." I told her and she raised one eyebrow in question.

"If obedience was what you were going for, then you probably shouldn't have fornicated with this guy." I explained jerking my thumb in Abe's direction.

Both he and Dimitri laughed loudly, but my mother looked less than amused.

_Seriously, would the woman ever lighten up?_

"Just try not to get yourself killed." She said tiredly when it was clear who won this argument.

She reached out to me with unusually unsteady hands and pulled me to her for an awkward hug.

_Why did things always have to be so weird between us?_

Abe watched our exchange with quiet amusement before pulling me into a hug of his own.

"Don't worry yourself gray Little Girl. There were will be plenty of time for that after your son's born; especially if he's anything like you." He winked.

After placing an affectionate kiss on my cheek, he took my mother's hand to leave. I think they both knew Dimitri and I would prefer to say goodbye in private.

Dimitri set the duffle bag he'd been hauling around onto the floor and pulled my body to him. I wrapped my own arms around his neck and pressed my body as close to him as my large stomach would allow.

"Your father's right you know. Try not to worry yourself sick.

_Easy for him to say._

Dimitri wasn't the one being left behind.

In all the years that we had known each other, we had both faced our fair share of danger. But whenever that had happened, we were usually side by side. This would be the first (and hopefully only) time that I wouldn't be there to have his back.

Could I really trust any of the other guardian's to look out for him as well as I could?

I didn't have any answer for that, and the realization sent me into a panic.

"I can't do this." I said, shaking my head frantically. "I know how it feels to lose you Dimitri, and I won't do it again. I won't survive it. I'm not strong enough Dimitri, I'm just not!"

It wasn't like me to lose it so publically, but I couldn't even bring myself to be embarrassed. My body was still in the present, but my mind was back in the saves of St. Vlads. All I could see was the look on Dimitri's face when he fell and the utter devastation I felt watching Nathan sink his teeth into him.

It was too much.

Too much to remember and too much to risk happening again.

Thankfully for me, Dimitri had experience with this, and he silenced my hysterics with his lips.

His large hands cupped my face tightly as he kissed me breathless, and I gave myself over to the feel of him completely. My body melted into his as if it belonged there, and for that brief moment, I let myself believe that it would all be okay.

When he finally pulled away from me, he used the pad of his thumb to wipe my tears.

"I know you are scared Milaya, but you don't have to be. Love is a force more formidable than any other and we've got the strongest love of all: true love. We are stronger than anything this world can throw at us, and we've proved that at least a dozen times over. Nothing could ever keep me from coming home to you Roza; I need you to believe that."

I looked deep into those warm brown eyes that I loved and I knew that he was right.

This world had given us its best shot, but not even death had been able to part us.

Dimitri and I were like two magnets, designed by nature not to part.

"I love you." I murmured, burying my face into his neck.

I inhaled the heavenly scent of his familiar aftershave and tried to commit it to memory.

"I love you too." He whispered back as he lovingly stroked my hair.

I let the feel of his touch calm me while I focused on taking deep breaths. I needed to pull myself together.

It was obvious by the look in his eyes that he was torn about leaving me, and I needed to put his mind at ease. The last thing he needed going into battle was a distraction, and that's exactly what would happen if he was worried about me.

With one last calming breath, I pulled myself away to look at him. There was now a small space between our bodies, but Dimitri maintained the connection by gripping my hips.

He was looking at me tenderly with such love and concern that it prompted me to press one last kiss to his lips.

"Okay, get moving." I encouraged, slapping his butt playfully and he chuckled lightly at my antics. "The sooner you leave, the sooner you get back. And when you do, this little guy and I will be waiting for you."

He knew me well enough to see through the bravado, but I think he appreciated the effort anyway.

Kneeling down, he placed both hands gingerly on either side of my stomach. He murmured a few things in Russian and I felt the baby kick in response.

"How about you repeat that in English, for the linguistically impaired." I suggested rolling my eyes.

_The man was really going to make me learn Russian, wasn't he?_

He laughed at me loudly before rising to his feet.

"It was just guy stuff." He winked. "You wouldn't understand."

He was lucky that grin he was sporting was so sexy…

"Watch it." I warned him and he leaned forward for a kiss.

He was also lucky to be leaving or I would have fought him harder on this.

"I'll be back before you know it." He smiled, brushing his hand across my cheek lightly.

He nodded his head to someone standing behind me, and a few seconds later Olena and the girls were by my side.

"Alright everybody, let's move out." Han's barked and his loud voice echoed in the large hall.

"That's my cue." Dimitri said, glancing down at our joined hands and it was then that I realized how tightly I was gripping his.

It wasn't easy, but after a gentle push from Lissa, I released his hold. The second his hand left mine, Lissa replaced it with hers.

I was too choked up to say as much, so I gave her a silent squeeze of thanks.

"I'll see you soon." Dimitri promised as he backed towards the door.

His eyes stayed locked with mine until the last possible second, and then the door slammed closed behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think was up with Rose's mom? <strong>

**Reviews Please : ) If I get enough, I might be inspired enough to post one more chapter before Christmas...**


	29. Chapter 29

**RPOV**

Dimitri hadn't even been gone 3 hours and already I was losing my mind.

How could all the rest of my friends stand this? It was worse than medieval torture!

Not that I really had any idea what that was like…

Last time I'd checked, I'd never been stretched on a rack or had my limbs pulled apart by horses…

But even so, I had to believe this waiting was worse.

At least with that kind of pain, you knew the torture would end. Sure you might suffer an agonizing death, but once it was over, the pain ended.

If Dimitri didn't come home from this mission my pain would never end, and that was infinitely worse.

At least it was in my book.

For the first hour after he left, my friends did my best to distract me. Olena cooked me food, and Christian offered to let me make fun of him. He even supplied me with ample material. But after a few half-hearted attempts, even he could see that my heart wasn't in it, so he left to go help Lissa.

She was off overseeing the details for tonight, but I had passed on that distraction as well. Party planning was about a high on my list as getting a root canal.

So after all of their attempts had failed, I retreated to the solitude of my bedroom with the hope that maybe a nap would pass the time.

But it didn't.

Try as I might, sleep just seemed to evade me, and it was the reason I had resorted to this. I was still staring at the ceiling when I heard the door creak open.

I didn't bother looking for the culprit until I felt the bed under of the weight of someone beside me.

We laid in silence for an immeasurable amount of time before I got bored.

"Did you know there are 63 red tiles on this ceiling?" I asked.

Christian continued to lie there quietly after I asked, and I got the sense that he felt the need to count the checkerboard ceiling himself. When he finished he let out a snort.

"What the hell kind of number is that? I could understand a nice even number like 50 or maybe 100. But 63? What's up with that?" He asked.

When I didn't offer up an answer, he continued talking.

"I mean if you're going to go all the way to 63, why not take it a few steps further and make it 69? At least then you could find the humor in it. 69 tiles on your bedroom ceiling is at least symbolic."

When he reached the end of his ramblings, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Does Lissa know what a pervert she married?" I asked grinning widely.

Christian looked back at me with a devilish grin of his own and laughed.

"Not only does she know about it, she likes it." He smirked, causing my stomach to turn.

Christian's sex life was the last thing I wanted to think about. I'd been forced to witness more than enough of it in the past.

"In fact, you would be surprised by the things your Queen has asked me to do to her…" he trailed off when I cupped my hands over my ears tightly.

"Eww! Seriously dude, I thought you were here to cheer me up, not traumatize me!" I laughed.

Christian cackled evilly beside me.

"What can I say; I'm a jack of all trades. I'm so talented, I managed to do both at the same time."

_That little shit…_

"What's so funny?" Sydney asked opening the door. She had Juliet in one arm and a bag of books in the other.

"My sex life." Christian announced proudly as he crossed the room to offer her a hand. He took the bag of books for her while she claimed his previous sport on the bed.

Just the sight of Juliet brightened me, and I sat up to take the baby from her arms.

"Do I even want to know?" Sydney asked warily and I shook my head no.

"Trust me on this one." I told her, and Christian sat at the foot of the bed still laughing.

Sydney shrugged uninterested before gesturing for Christian to hand over her bag.

While she was busy spilling its contents onto the bed, I focused my attention on Juliet. She was exactly the kind of distraction I'd needed, but when everyone left earlier she had been asleep.

Thankfully she was awake now.

I watched in amusement as her bright emerald eyes searched my face curiously. The irrational joy I got from watching her make weird faces wasn't something I could easily explain. It just fascinated me.

Unfortunately for me, she had the attention span of a Nat and eventually her eyes drooped closed.

It seemed Juliet and I shared the same appreciation for sleep.

"What's all this?" Christian asked as he rifled through the contents on the bed.

The curiosity in his voice peaked my interest and I looked up from Juliet to investigate.

Scattered across the bed were an assortment of books, a few highlighters, some pens and notebook paper.

"It's Rose's distraction." Sydney smiled brightly.

"You're giving me homework?" I asked skeptically and it caused Christian to cackle loudly. "Thanks but no thanks Sydney. I mean I love you and all, but you're the only nerd I know that enjoys learning."

"It's true." Christian threw in. "It's a miracle Rose even graduated."

Sydney rolled her eyes at the both of us while I used my free hand to chuck a book at him. He tried to dodge it neatly, but he was no match for my aim, and I smiled in satisfaction when the book hit him.

"Ouch." He muttered rubbing the spot on his head where it hit him.

"It's not homework." Sydney explained, holding up one of the books for me to read.

"101 Baby Names." I said reading the title out loud. "That's what we're doing?"

Sydney nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Rose, that baby will be here in less than two months and you haven't even started to think about baby names!"

_What was so weird about that?_

We hadn't even learned the gender until two weeks ago.

"Ha!" Christian laughed loudly, holding up another book for me. "Check this one out. The Top 100 Worst Baby Names of All Time." He grinned flipping it open to a random page. "This is going to be awesome."

Sydney and I both laughed at his unexpected enthusiasm. This hardly seemed like his type of activity.

"What's so awesome about it?" Sydney asked picking up a different book to skim through. There were at least ten different kinds to choose from.

"Well unlike Rose here, Lissa has been throwing baby names at me for weeks now, and I'd be cool with it if she wasn't picking such lame names. Anyway just the other night she got mad at me for rejecting them and told me they were better than anything I could come up with…"

It was only because I knew him so well that I could see where this was going.

"Well you aren't going to find any good names in that book. I only brought it along for some laughs." Sydney explained practically.

Unlike me, she wasn't skilled in the art of reading his devious mind.

"That's the whole point." I told Sydney. "He wants to pick out the worst names just to annoy her."

Sydney looked at me disbelieving, but when she caught sight of Christian scribbling down a few names, she got her answer.

"You are unbelievable!" She announced chucking another book at him.

He was so preoccupied with his evil scheme; he didn't even see it coming.

"Hey!" He complained just as Lissa walked through the door. "What was that for?" He whined and Lissa watched on in amusement.

"I wouldn't mind knowing the answer to that myself."

The second he heard Lissa's voice behind him, he froze and Sydney and I burst into a fit of laughter.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

I couldn't get the image of Rose out of my mind.

She may have put on a brave face there at the end, but it was clear it nearly killed her to do so. Roza wasn't used to being the one left behind, and she wasn't handling it well now.

"She's tougher than you give her credit for."

The sound of Adrian's voice broke into my thoughts.

We were on the plane back to the rendezvous point where we would meet up with the rest of the team. In an effort to save time, we were bypassing a landing back at court, and instead found a small landing strip closer to our target.

"Look I know you're worried about her, but don't be. I've got Sydney all over this." Adrian continued slapping my shoulder. "Rose is going to be so preoccupied with Juliet; she won't even have time to miss you alright? Just focus on the task at hand."

There was a time when a pep talk from Adrian Ivashkov would feel as foreign to me as space travel, but now a days it was common place.

I suppose life is just funny that way.

As difficult as it was, I tried to do as he said but the sound of Janine's voice nearby distracted me.

"You weren't there Ibrahim; you didn't see how awful it went."

Janine's voice sounded stress but that didn't keep Abe from laughing.

"I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you think." He tried to console her, but she wouldn't have it.

"Trust me, it was worse. I told her I was there on guardian business." She said flatly and Abe laughed louder.

"Would you quit laughing!" she scolded him. "This is serious Ibrahim."

I silently wondered if this had anything to do with Janine's impromptu visit last night, and I strained my ears for a better listen/

"You need to stop worrying." Abe encouraged her. "Rosemarie knows how much you love her."

"That's easy for you to say." Janine muttered. "You two have a great relationship. Meanwhile I can't even have a conversation with my daughter that doesn't make me sound like a robot."

Abe chuckled once more but Janine continued.

"I went over there knowing all of the things I wanted to say to her, but then I get there and she goes and makes me crazy. I don't understand it Ibrahim, I just don't. Why can't we ever have just one normal conversation?"

There was such a vulnerability to her voice, and it sounded so out of place on Janine. It also sounded identical to something I've heard Rose say once before.

I smiled silently to myself knowing what Abe would say to her next.

"Janine my love, you are just too close to see it clearly, but for all the ways you claim that she's like me, she's so much more like you. She's beautiful and stubborn and tough as a battle axe. She is all those things because she's your daughter, and it's your similarities that drive each other insane."

From where I was sitting my view was obstructed, but I could have sworn I heard a sniffle.

_Was Janine Hathaway crying?_

"I know you wish your talk had gone better, but it's not necessary. Rose doesn't need a declaration of love from you, and she knows how much you care. You may not be able to show it in the same way as Olena, but that doesn't mean you love her any less. Olena shows her love by nurturing, while you my love show it with protection. You've been protecting Rose her whole life, even if she doesn't know it and you always show up when it counts. I promise you, she knows that."

"Do you really think so?" She asked so weakly, it didn't even sound like Janine.

"I know so." Abe answered her confidently.

When the silence between them dragged on, I thought their conversation was over, but just as I closed my eyes I heard Janine speak softly.

"You're sure Lissa got the letters?" she asked and Abe let out a heavy sigh.

"Yes Janine, I put them in her hands myself."

"And she knows what to do with them?" She continued to push.

Judging by the exasperated sounds he was making, he was tired of talking about this.

"Your directions were quite clear. Deliver them to Rose and Dimitri when the time is right. Now please dear, can we stop talking about this? If I have any say in the matter, those letters won't even be necessary and we both now I always have a say."

In a strange show of public affection, I heard the sound of their lips meet.

"I love you Ibrahim." She murmured softly and I heard the sound again.

"It's the only logical reason why you put up with me." He teased.

"Oh I don't know why I even bother with you!" She exclaimed hitting him playfully and the sound of Abe's throaty laugh echoed throughout the small plane.

I hadn't intended to eavesdrop on their private moment, but the conversation about Rose had caught my interest.

I wished there was some way that I could reassure Janine without letting her know that I was listening.

And while I hated to admit Abe was right about anything (because the man never let you forget it) he had been right about this.

Rose knew how much her mother loved her. She may have a hard time showing it, but Rose knew the love was there.

Now if only I could find out more about those letters she was talking about.

But that would have to wait.

When the fasten seat belt sign flashed overhead, I knew it was time to focus. If all went according to plan, then by this time tomorrow Tasha and her reign of terror would be nothing but a bad memory.

If all goes as planned…

* * *

><p><strong>Okay people, next chapter we'll see some action! But after an intense last chapter, I thought we all needed a little light hearted conversation. <strong>

**Leave me your thoughts on how you want the fighting to play out.**

**I'll see what I can do : )**


	30. Chapter 30

**DPOV**

The moment our small plane touched down outside of Pittsburgh, we were in motion.

"This crazy ass plan just might work." Adrian said quietly as his eyes roamed a sea of guardian's.

Waiting for us on the tarmac stood a team of 35 guardians', and when you factored in our 8 fire users, and 2 spirit users, it was a pretty impressive show of force.

I hoped for Adrian's sake as much as the rest of us, that we wouldn't need them. But it was still a comfort to know they were there. Even the most skilled guardian could falter, so having a spirit user could come in handy.

Most of the guardian's assembled here hailed from court, but Han's had outsourced a few as well.

While some Moroi at court felt comfortable lending their personal guardian's to the cause, the vast majority had been less understanding. Only the guardian's assigned to court had been eligible to volunteer, and most of them were too young to know any better.

In my 10 years as a guardian, I'd been on countless raids, but this one was by far the most dangerous.

An offensive attack of this magnitude was unheard of and there were several variable to consider.

Based on our most recent information, we were looking at more than 60 Strigoi; a number that nearly doubled our own.

But the numbers weren't our only problem. There was also skill level to consider.

With the rate at which their numbers replenished, I believed the majority of them to be young. Even with the amount of damage they'd caused in their last attack, we managed to put a dent in their numbers. The fact that they had regrouped so quickly made me slightly hopeful. Picking off the younger Strigoi would be easy; it was the older ones we had to watch out for.

Even just a handful of seasoned Strigoi was enough to make this more difficult.

Han's had done his best to fill our team with skilled fighters, but there were still a few that were green, and all too eager to prove themselves.

I was looking at one of them right now.

Her name was Lucy Chandler, and she reminded me a great deal of Rose.

Not only did she have a penchant for finding trouble, she was great at finding creative ways out of it.

At barely 18 years old, she was incredibly cocky and her competitive nature tended to work against her. It was the reason she'd been assigned to court after graduation.

It wasn't for lack of skill because like Roza, she possessed raw talent.

No, Lucy's troubled stemmed from her unwillingness to learn.

If she ever found the discipline to cultivate that raw talent, she'd be unstoppable.

As I watched her bounce up and down in anticipation, I made a mental note to speak with her about it later.

Assuming she survived this…

"Remind you of anyone?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

After turning my head in the direction the sound came from, I found myself face to face with Alberta. Her eyes were still focused on Lucy but a small smile played on her lips.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, and her gaze averted back to me.

"Janine." She answered simply, glancing somewhere behind me towards her friend.

I swiveled my head in Janine's direction in time to see her give Alberta a small nod.

Friends weren't something my mother in law came by easily, but Alberta Petrov was as close as she got.

When Alberta's amusement at my shocked state faded, she turned her attention back to Lucy. She was standing huddled around a group of guardians her age, captivating one young man in particular. With his bright red hair and boyish smile, I immediately thought of Mason.

Even the passing of time had done little to dull his memory. It still pained me to think of him and the sacrifice he'd made. His actions in Spokane were the only reason Roza was still breathing.

I watched their interactions wistfully until I noticed Alberta's expression. She was staring at me expectantly and I realized she was still waiting for an answer.

"She certainly has Roza's potential." I conceded. "But she lacks the same the discipline."

For half a heartbeat Alberta stared at me blankly before letting out a boisterous laugh.

I watched her sudden amusement with a confusion that I couldn't understand.

_Why was that funny?_

"Perhaps you're forgetting things in your old age" she teased playfully. "But Rose's discipline didn't come easily. In fact I seem to remember you beating it out of her, against her will, while she kicked and screamed the whole way."

_Okay, she had me there._

The first few months training Rose had been a nightmare. She was obstinate and bullheaded and a constant test of my patience.

Some days she still is…

"Fair enough" I relented and Alberta's laughter was contagious.

Once the shock of seeing her wore off, I found her presence here a relief. We had fought alongside one another before, in a situation not so different than the one now.

And she wasn't the only one.

After a cursory glance around us, I spotted a few more familiar faced, including Stan Alto.

All around us guardians engaged in small talk, while he waited for further instruction. It wasn't easy to arrange transportation for 40 people, but Han's found a way to make it work.

In an effort to maintain some order, we were divided into teams.

Each team was assigned 2 fire users along with 4 additional guardians.

With my combat experience I was an ideal choice for a team leader, and so were Han's, Janine, Alberta and Stan.

After separating us into 5 teams of 8, we all piled in our SUV's and set off.

The drive over was a quiet one and it gave me time to think. Only the youngest guardian's whispered nervously before eventually falling silent.

As for me, I spent the entire drive over analyzing and assessing me team; searching for the most successful strategy. No two guardians were the same, and knowing their individual strengths would play a key role in their survival.

By the time our vehicle rolled to a stop I felt ready.

My team however was another story.

A hushed silence had fallen over them as the gravity of our mission sank in. For some guardian's, the closest they'd come to combat was their novice trials, so for them this would be a shock.

Even the best academy could only teach you so much. After that you needed real world experience.

But out in the real world, there were no second chances. You either lived to see victory or died trying.

There was no in-between.

Once the last guardian had emerged from his vehicle, Han's called us all to attention with a sharp whistle.

"Alright everyone, we do this just like we planned. I don't want to see any glory hounds out there." He said sternly, looking at Lucy. "You each have a team leader and I expect you to follow them. They were chosen for a reason and they are your best chance to survive this. Now we made this plan as a team, and as a team we are going to execute it. Any questions?"

I looked around at some of the younger guardians, and was relieved to find a little fear.

As crazy as it sounds, fear is a good thing; it keeps you cautious. It's the fearless ones that always managed to get themselves killed.

When no one spoke up, Han's continued.

"Alright then, let's move out."

The large property we were headed for was situation about a mile up the road, and we'd stopped our convoy at a small service road hidden away.

The blueprints we'd obtained gave us a detailed layout of the estate and we'd each been designated a location.

Han's team would take the main entrance, while Janine took the east wing. Alberta would cover the west wing, and Stan's team would take the back. As for my team, we were headed towards the barn. There was a large stable attached to it and had been a hot bed of activity.

The commute from the road was lined with trees that gave us ample cover; but we were losing daylight and fast. In order for this to work, we had to get there before sunset, while the sunlight still kept them confined.

With soundless precision we made our way up the road, and the only voice that could be heard was from my ear piece.

Just as Han's had promised, Adrian had stayed behind. He waited back at the vehicle with two guardians but had been given an ear piece so he could reach us.

The frequency only extended to the 5 team leaders, but that was enough backup to ease my mind. If I couldn't get to him, someone else would.

When we reached the fork in the road where we'd split, I heard him.

"You've got this." Adrian encouraged. "Now go have yourselves a BBQ."

I waited until my team was alone before I addressed them.

"I'm not one for long winded speeches" I admitted. "But I will say this: the only way you make it out of here is with trust. Trust yourself, and the guy standing next to you. Trust in your skills and instincts, and trust in others to do the same. Trust is our best defense against the enemy. Teamwork may not come easily to them, but it does for us. It's a powerful weapon and we have it, so when you're out there tonight, I want you to remember that. Remember it and use it; and take every advantage you can get."

No one spoke, but it was necessary. The nodding of their heads showed understanding.

"No here's the plan. With 8 in our group, we'll be working in pairs. I want our Moroi on the back line with a pair of guardian's working to shield them. I want Toby and Lucy to flank in the middle, and Mikhail and I will lead the charge." I explained, but the words felt all wrong leaving my mouth.

With no disrespect towards Mikhail, I just wished he were Rose. She'd been my guarding partner for as long as I could remember, and it felt wrong to be working without her.

"Are there any questions?" I asked.

Hans had already covered this, but I wanted to give them one last chance. It wasn't easy standing up in front of a room full of guardian's and feeling unprepared. What would they think?

I searched each of their faces for signs of uncertainty but didn't find any.

Maybe were in better shape than I thought.

"Last chance" I offered, but no one took it.

Instead they stared back at my expressionless, with faces carved of stone. If there was even an ounce of fear in them, they didn't show it.

They were ready.

And after one last glance around at my team, we set off.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope everyone had a great Christmas.<strong>

**Now I know I promised the next chapter would have some action, but as I sat down to write this chapter, it didn't play out that way.  
><strong>

**I needed to set the stage for the big fight, and between that and introducing a new character, it got kind of long winded. But don't worry, the next chapter will jump off right where we left them, as Dimitri and his team head into the barn. **

**What do you think of Lucy, and what role do you think she will play?**

**Review's please : )**

**Oh and just for the record, Lucy will in no way be some kind of home wrecker. Dimitri would never stray from Rose : ) **


	31. Chapter 31

**Lucy's POV**

What would Rose Hathaway do?

That was the question I'd been asking myself since I signed up for this mission.

Actually, I'd been asking it for most of my life.

She'd always had one hell of a reputation, especially after running off with the princess. Even at eleven I could recognize what a scandal that was.

But it wasn't until the attack at St. Vladimir's that spring that I really saw what she could do. Our class had been visiting the upperclassmen's campus and we caught a glimpse of the novice field experience.

It was just a regular Sunday as she walked across the quad, but when the mock Strigoi popped out, she didn't even blink. She sprang into action, dispatching two of the guardian's with ease. She made the whole thing appear so simple, I wondered if they were even trying.

It wasn't until she faced off with Guardian Belikov that I understood.

She hadn't won her first fights without effort; she'd done it was skill. She was that good, and watching her deadly dance with Guardian Belikov only drove that point home.

He wasn't taking it easy on her, that much you could see. The skill level with which he attacked, required a counter attack of equal caliber.

And she didn't disappoint.

The moment she raised her mock stake over his heart, I just knew; I would do whatever it takes to be just like her.

Of course that was easier said than done. I was so busy raising hell and making a name for myself that I lost sight of my goal along the way. I had compromised my education, but by the time I finally realized that, the damage was done.

However now was my chance to change that.

Being on this raid, with these guardian's was an opportunity other would kill for, and I planned to make the most of it.

The fact that I'd been lucky enough to land a spot on Belikov's team was just an added bonus. The man was a legend; a god among men, and the person responsible for teaching my role model.

Every word out of his mouth was like gold to me, and I soaked it all up like a sponge.

"Are you nervous?" Toby asked almost inaudibly.

We were still a couple meters out from the target, but I didn't want to risk answering. The element of surprise was one of the only things we had going for us, and I wasn't about to be responsible for ruining that.

I could still feel Toby's stare on me like laser beams, so I silently shook my head no. When his gaze remained fixed on me after that, I wanted to hit him.

Toby was never one for keeping his feelings secret, but now was hardly the time or place. He was a great guy and I enjoyed flirting with him, but not; not like this.

There was a time and a place to show emotion, but it sure as hell wasn't on the battlefield.

In an effort to distract myself from my growing irritation, I set my sights on the people in front of me. I watched in awe as Guardian Belikov moved forward in silent stealth as he continued to stalk towards his prey.

It was almost unfathomable that a man of his size and stature could move so gracefully. I'd expected something more like a charge of brute force.

Perhaps that was part of what made him so deadly; he rarely did what you expected.

I kept my eyes trained and my ears open, alert to any attacks, but it wasn't until we were a few feet from the barns entrance that I detected any movement.

With a silent signal from Belikov, I folded my body flat against the barn wall. Making extra certain not to draw any attention to myself, I peered through the nearby window.

The moment my eyes adjusted to the scene before me, I panicked.

It wasn't as if I'd never seen a Strigoi before; I'd even fought that in the attack last month.

But this was different.

Not only were there more of them, but they were more organized. There was none of the selfish, self-serving behavior I'd come to expect from them. This group was more methodical.

Beside me Toby must have picked up on my unease because I felt him give my hand a gentle squeeze. When I turned to look at him I felt my breath catch. He was staring back at me with promise and utterly unwavering faith. The wordless message he was sending me was clear.

Just breathe. We can do this.

I focused on lowering my heart rate and when it slowed to a steady rhythm, I smiled gratefully. Toby smiled back at me and with one last squeeze, he released my hand.

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

You know that old saying:Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue?

Well today we were the statue.

Not only had we been wrong about their estimated numbers, I had been personally wrong about their strength. The moment I caught a glimpse through the barn windows, I just knew.

This was going to be a lot harder than we thought.

The barn was significantly larger than the blueprints showed, leading me to believe they had done an expansion. All the walls had been knocked out creating one large open space, and the two levels of hay lofts made the building appear three stories. There was an entire wall dedicated to information and details that pertained to court and the attack.

But the most troublesome part of all was their diagrams of the royal families.

"What's with the names?" Toby asked quietly after I'd pulled them back to the tree line to regroup.

"It's a hit list." I answered him honestly and his eyes widened.

"How can you be sure?" Another guardian challenged. He was a couple of years older than me and a complete know it all.

His name was Watson I believe, although I couldn't say for sure. He was a notorious skeptic and I made it a point to avoid working with him.

"I'm sure." I answered flatly, but apparently that wasn't good enough.

"But how?" He continued to challenge, needing to know my reasons why.

I knew my honest explanation would end his questioning and I sighed.

"Because I've seen a list like this before, when I was one of them."

I'd even made a few myself.

It wasn't easy to think about my time as a Strigoi and I wasn't happy to do it now.

The things I had done, and the devastation I'd caused; it would haunt me the rest of my life. The only good thing that had ever come from it was my insider knowledge and in times like this it served me well.

I had insight into their inner workings and an understanding of their cause. They wanted to assert their dominance over our people, and accomplished it by wiping the royals out.

As guardians we did our best to halt their efforts, but still our numbers dwindled. The Dragomir's weren't the only family to face extinction anymore.

I noticed Watson stiffen at my omission while Mikhail just looked at me sympathetically. There was a certain pity in his eyes that I was in no mood to deal with.

After shaking off my troublesome memories, I tried to focus.

If we'd arrived only 10 minutes earlier, this would have been simple. We had the fire power to set the whole barn a blaze and the daylight would have kept them trapped inside. But with the sun nearly down now on the horizon, that plan was no longer an option.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Lucy asked, earning a quizzical look from the rest of us. Watson rolled his eyes like it was absurd but I just ignored him. If Lucy's mind worked anything like Roza's, I wanted to hear about it.

Ignoring Watson's protests, I gestured for her to continue.

"I studied the blueprints on our flight over, and this barn only has two points of entry. If we place fire users at each one, we can keep the Strigoi contained inside. As long as we don't tip them off before hand, we can use the two extra guardians who would have been protecting them to join the fight. As long as we keep a wall of fire at the door, the Moroi will be protected. It'll act as a shield they can't break through."

She spoke clearly with a show of confidence and I had to admit I was impressed; not just with her but with the plan as well. It was a pretty solid one; it just needed a bit of tweaking.

"Hold that thought." I told her before pressing on my earpiece. "Guardian Croft, do you copy?"

I didn't have to wait long for him to answer.

"What's the situation?" he asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me. What's happening on your end?" I asked him myself.

"It's as we expected. There are a lot of them, but they are young. They should be fairly easy to take."

_So I was right._

After seeing the group assembled back that the barn it became clear to me.

They were the leaders here.

The gathering at the barn was about strategy, like the military leaders who made all the big decisions. They were the brains of this operation and left the foot soldiers out of this. The younger Strigoi were strong in numbers, but they were less lethal without someone to lead.

The barn was where we should be focusing.

"Do you think it will be easy enough to spare me a team?" I asked hesitantly. "The barn is their base of operations, and the Strigoi here are all pretty ancient." I explained.

"How many?" He asked sharply, and I did the mental math.

"About 18 Sir." I told him, and he cursed quietly under his breath.

"I'll go." Janine's voice came through in my ear piece. "Stan's team can take the east wing and my team will assist Dimitri. That will make 12 guardians to their 18. It's still not great but at least it's something."

Hans mulled it over quickly before making a decision.

"Alright Hathaway, your team goes. But I want your fire power to stay here."

I didn't need to see Abe in order to know what he was thinking. He'd be furious about letting Janine out of his sight.

_Not that she needed his protection_.

I could hear Janine arguing with him in hushed tones before he went quiet.

"I'm sorry Mazur, but you're needed here. Belikov is going to need all the bodies he can get, and I'll need your firepower back here to cover the loss. Alto and Petrov, I want each of you to send 2 of your guardian's to assist, and in turn you'll each gain an extra Moroi."

I could hear Abe's protests pick up again, but Janine was quick to silence him.

"Understood Guardian Croft; we're on our way."

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

I was having a bitch of a time not smiling.

Not only had Guardian Belikov listened to my suggestion, but he'd praised me for it as well.

_Talk about an ego boost!_

Unfortunately for me, celebrating my genius would have to wait because the moment Janine Hathaway arrived, we were moving. With stakes in hand we stormed the barn.

Once again Guardian Belikov surprised me when he tore the barn door off its hinges with brute force.

_Talk about a turn on._

If the women back at court could see him now…

Most of them could barely form a sentence around him on a good day. He had impeccable manners and a kind disposition, but it was his inhuman good looks that really did it.

The man was like sex on a stick. Who wouldn't be attracted to him?

I allowed myself the tiniest moment to appreciate his godliness before focusing on the task at hand.

The scene in front of me was chaos.

In school you practice drills for every scenario your instructors can dream of, but this was like nothing I'd ever seen, and no amount of training could have prepared me for it.

This made the attack at court last month look like child's play.

Where those Strigoi had been strong, they lacked the same deadly grace. We'd been in the barn for less than a minute and I'd already seen two of my colleagues cut down.

It was shocking.

Years of training, their experience, the culmination of their life's work; all of it just gone with the snap of a neck.

"Chandler get down!" I heard a voice call out through my haze. It was like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on me.

Without even thinking I dropped to the ground, just in time to see a stake strike out over me. The Strigoi that had just been mere inches from taking my life now lay in a crumpled heap beside me.

I looked up at my savoir to see Guardian Belikov extending a hand to me. I took it without hesitation and he yanked me to my feet. The moment I was facing him, I wanted to die of embarrassment.

From the moment we'd stepped foot in here, I'd been like a deer caught in the headlights.

But he didn't even give me a chance to apologize. With lightening quick speed, he grabbed my stake from its holster and shoved it roughly into my hands.

"I know it's hard, but block it out." He ordered sternly.

He was speaking to me, but his eyes continued to scan the room.

"Don't worry about the fight going on nearby; just focus on what's right in front of you."

He glanced back at me just long enough to see me nod before jumping back into the fray. The second he stepped out of my line of sight I saw her, but it was a couple of seconds to late.

She slammed my back against the side of the barn roughly, and my vision momentarily blurred. Luckily I recovered quickly, and had the satisfaction of watching her stagger backwards under the force of my own shove. Without wasting the momentum, I propelled myself forward, feeling my stake bite into her heart.

I didn't even wait to watch the light leave her eyes, before yanking the stake back out harshly. I was still scared out of my mind, but I suddenly felt certain I could do this.

And I set off to find my next target.

* * *

><p><strong>Janine's POV<strong>

The moment Dimitri broke down the barn door I started searching for her, and all the death and destruction she'd caused lately only fueled me.

I thought of the calculating way she had framed Rose, all while pretending to be her friend.

I thought of the way my hand shook in Ibrahim's while we waited in the ER after Rose was shot.

I thought of the look on Rose's face the day she'd told me she was expecting, and the fear she now wore every day since Tasha had threatened her child.

That woman was responsible for all of my daughter's sleepless nights and was a never ending threat to her happiness.

I may not be the most affectionate mother, but no child has ever been loved more fiercely.

And it was about time that Tasha Ozera learned that.

* * *

><p><strong>Well the battle is underway.<strong>

**Predictions anyone?**

**Don't forget to leave a review please : )**


	32. Chapter 32

**DPOV**

Everywhere my eyes fell I found chaos.

I watched my fellow guardians wage war on a ground that was littered with bodies.

The Strigoi we were fighting here were ancient and made quick work of decimating our numbers.

Our Moroi were doing a good job of keeping them prisoner, but I wasn't sure how much longer they would last.

I'd done all I could to keep an eye on my team, but I lost sight of a few mid battle. After retrieving my stake from an opponent's chest, I gave the room a cursory glance.

It had been awhile since I'd laid eyes on Janine, but I knew enough not to worry. Instead I focused on locating the younger members of my team. Despite Lucy's rough start, she seemed to be holding her own now, and Toby was never far from her side.

Mikhail however was another story.

I found him near the far side of the barn, trying to fend off 3 Strigoi. He was battered and bloody and on the brink of exhaustion.

With lethal speed I lunged at one of them, and she never even saw me coming. My stake slid straight into her heart with zero resistance.

Mikhail took advantage of the other two's surprise and effortlessly staked another. When the 3rd Strigoi turned to me snarling, I swung out at his legs with my feet, and swept him to the ground. With his back flat against the floor, Mikhail drove the stake home.

"Thanks" He told me, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.

I saw him wince at the movement and I was pretty sure his arm was broken.

"Hang in there." I told him, patting his back lightly. He gave me a grateful smile before we turned to find our next fight.

The numbers were starting to dwindle and I sent up a silent prayer for this to be over. I'd made Roza a promise that I fully intended to keep, and I was eager to make it home to her.

It wasn't until I scanned the room that I found them. She'd somehow managed to make her way up to the lay loft and was watching the battle below from a safe distance.

Or so she thought.

I watched from the ground level as it all played out in slow motion. One minute Tasha had her back to Janine, seemingly unaware of her presence and in the next she had her hands around Janine's neck.

From my position in the barn, I knew she hadn't seen me and I scaled the ladder to the loft within seconds.

By the time she heard my foot steps behind her, it was too late. I blocked the only escape to the ladder and unless she wanted to leap over the railing into the fight then she was trapped.

I watched her face transition from surprise to apprehension before she finally made a decision.

One look at the ground floor below and she could see the battle was lost.

Only 4 Strigoi remained, and enough guardians had survived to finish them, and I could hear Han's side through my ear piece and I knew the war had been won. Tasha knew it as well and her hands tightened around Janine's neck.

I could see Janine still struggling to break free, but she was losing consciousness. Every instinct in my body was screaming for me to leap forward and help her, but I knew any sudden movements might encourage Tasha to snap her neck. When Janine's eyes drooped closed, she looked back to me with a wistful smile.

"You know it wasn't supposed to be this way." She said, dragging Janine's body closer to the railing.

I gaged her movements carefully, trying to anticipate her next move.

"I never wanted any of this; all the death and destruction. All I ever wanted was you Dimka, but you couldn't see that; you couldn't see me." She continued.

I was vaguely aware of some hushed conversations through my ear piece, but I was too distracted to listen in. I was too focused on what Tasha was saying. She was still holding tightly to Janine's unconscious body and I couldn't figure out where this was going.

She had no place to go but down, but even then the fall wouldn't kill her.

Her only options were to take her chances with me, or fight the guardians down below.

Neither choice would end well for her.

That's when I heard Adrian's voice come in loudly through my ear piece.

"Keep her talking Dimitri. Keep her distracted."

_What was he doing?_

Tasha was still staring at me expectantly so I decided to do as he asked.

"I always saw you Tasha, just not in the way you wanted me to. You were always my friend, and a good one at that."

The words tasted like vinegar on my tongue, but it had the desired effect.

Tasha's red rimmed eyes lit up and she smiled, although the action looked all wrong on her face.

"That's right Dimka, I was a good friend to you, and I would have made a good wife. No one has ever loved you quite like I do, and they certainly never appreciated you; but I did. I saw the potential in you before anyone else, but you chose her. You always choose Rose, and everything that's happened since then is on you."

Her eyes hardened at the end of her rant and I wasn't sure how much longer I could do this.

Her eyes burned with hatred at the mere mention of Rose and she looked around the loft frantically and crazed.

"All of this could have been avoided Dimka if you had only chose me. You never would have been turned because you wouldn't have been at the academy during the attack. Tatianna wouldn't be dead because I wouldn't have been at court to kill her. Rose would still have a nice life, probably living at Lehigh with Lissa. She might have even stayed with Adrian since you wouldn't have been in the picture. It would be his baby she was carrying right now, and you wouldn't even care. Do you know why? Because we would have had a family of our own to be content with."

She was visibly shaking with rage and Janine's body rattled in her hands. Her back was completely against the railing now and she was totally out of control.

"That's the way things should have happened Dimitri. That's what my life should have been! I didn't want to hurt Rose, but you gave me no other choice. You forced my hand Dimitri; you're the reason I'm like this. You made me a monster!"

Without any warning at all, she grabbed Janine and tossed her body over the railing. It wasn't a fall that would kill Tasha, but Janine I wasn't so sure.

I heard the horrifying sound of her body landing and felt my own rage build up in me tenfold.

I didn't know if she'd just succeeded in killing Rose's mother, but I knew it was the last thing she'd ever do.

With nothing left to stop me, I lunged forward and tackled her to the ground. Even her enhanced strength was no match for me, and I pinned both of her arms to her side.

"Guardian Belikov, don't!" I heard a voice call out and I saw Lucy and Adrian rushing towards me.

* * *

><p><strong>Lucy's POV<strong>

The fighting had been brutal to say the least, but it still wasn't over.

I knew it when I saw Janine Hathaway in the loft and when Guardian Belikov went charging after her.

I couldn't say I blamed them really. Tasha Ozera was a monster and she needed to be stopped. All the mayhem of the last few months had come by her hands, but it still didn't seem right to kill her. That kind of evil deserved to be punished, and death wasn't nearly harsh enough.

That's when I got the idea.

I knew about Adrian Ivashkov and what he was capable of. I also knew he was one of the only spirit users crazy enough to agree with this.

And I took off.

I knew which vehicle he was waiting in, I just hoped I had enough time to reach him.

I thought it would be a lot harder to sell him on my idea, but he jumped on board pretty easily. He even went so far as to radio Belikov and convince him to stall her.

Thanks to the fight being underway, there was no more need for secrecy and we drove the car back to the barn.

"You know you remind me of her." Adrian said conversationally as we drove back up the gravel road. "This is exactly the kind of wildly impetuous plan Rose would come up with."

I couldn't help but beam under the praise and he gave me a million dollar smile in return.

Wild and impetuous as Rose may be, the girl had killer taste in men.

When we reached the barn again, the dust was settling. The last of the Strigoi had been eliminated and the remaining guardians were using their battered bodies to haul the dead outside.

"What are they doing?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

He was a Moroi for crying out loud. How should he know what the guardians were thinking?

"It make's things easier for the Alchemists" he answered with a sly smile. "I bet you didn't think I'd know the answer to that, did you?"

_Well that made sense._

The bodies would have to be discarded of, and it wasn't like we could set the whole barn on fire.

Speaking of the barn, we had just walked back through the open door when Janine's body landed with a thud in front of us.

"Holy shit!" Adrian shouted and took off at a sprint towards the loft.

I didn't even allow myself time to be horrified before I took off behind him. We cleared the ladder in just enough time to see Guardian Belikov straddling Tasha. He had her arms pinned down tightly and his face looked down right murderous. It was a look of hate in its purest form and it terrified even me.

_Was it any wonder the whole of court feared him? _

As he raised his stake over her heart I called out to him.

"Guardian Belikov, don't!"

His head snapped up as we continued to charge towards him.

"What are you doing?" He asked when Adrian pulled the charmed stake from his pocket.

He looked between the two of us confused before understanding lit his face. He seemed about to protest when Tasha beat him to it.

"No! Don't you dare Adrian! I'd rather Dimitri stake me right now than ever go back to be a Moroi!"

She thrashed wildly under Belikov's grip, but it was useless. His hold on her was tighter than a titanium steel s trap.

He looked back up at Adrian torn and unsure.

"She may have just killed Rose's mother." He said grimly and my stomach rolled remembering her fall.

"All the more reason to let me do this" Adrian argued. "Let her suffer the wrath of Zmey when he finds out. He'll find a more creative way to punish her than we could even dream of."

I knew enough about Rose's father to know that was true. Abe Mazur was as scary as they come; and as stated, incredibly creative. He had ways of making people disappear without ever needing to get his hands dirty.

However something told me that wouldn't be the case now. If Rose's mother really was dead, then Tasha's torture would come by his hand personally.

"Don't listen to him Dimka!" Tasha pleaded. "You have to end this. Moroi or not, I will never stop coming for her. As long as I'm breathing Rose will never be safe."

I saw the decision return to Belikov's eyes and I knew I needed to do something.

"Oh for the love of God" I groaned, letting my fist sail straight into her mouth. Blood started to spurt out and both Adrian and Guardian Belikov stared stunned.

I looked between the two of them, now feeling slightly self-conscious.

_So I didn't exactly have the best impulse control…_

"What?" I asked defensively. "I was tired of listening to her mouth. Now are we going to do this or what?"

The both stared at me for a heartbeat longer before Adrian looked at Dimitri and laughed.

"Dude, it's like someone cloned your wife!" He said laughing harder.

Despite the previous tension in the air, Dimitri cracked a grin of his own and laughed.

His laughter only seemed to egg Adrian on further and I tapped my foot against the floor impatiently.

_Was now really the best time for this?_

"I'm glad I can amuse you, but do you think you could at my expense later. This is kind of important."

My impatient rant seemed to somber them both up as did Tasha's efforts to spit up more flood.

With a heavy sigh, Dimitri turned to Adrian.

"It's your call man."

Dimitri looked down at the monster below him and ran a frazzled hand through his hair.

"Just do it." He sighed and Tasha let out an audible gasp beneath him.

"Dimka no!" she protested, but it was too late.

The stake plunged down with a force that even astonished me; especially considering Adrian was a Moroi. He'd still had to use both hands, but the end result was the same. The long silver stake slid firmly into her chest, piercing Tasha's heart.

She let out an ear piercing scream that made my ears bleed.

A brilliant and blinding white light filled the barn, while an unseen force blasted me backwards.

My back hit the railing of the loft, but my bran barely registered the pain; I was too stunned.

The whole barn shook and I found myself grasping wildly for something to help brace me.

I squeezed my eyes shut to help me focus, but behind my eyelids I was still seeing starbursts.

I could hear the commotion from the guardians underneath us, all wondering what the hell had just happened.

And then as quickly as it had happened, it all stopped.

The bright lights, the tremors, the murmurs below me; it all faded away. Blinking my eyes back into focus, I scrambled clumsily to my feet. Dimitri did the same before rushing over to Adrian who was struggling weakly to stand.

And then I saw Tasha.

"Holy shit" I whispered to no one in particular.

It was unbelievable.

With Dimitri no longer of top of her, she pulled herself into a sitting position.

Her eyes were wide and dazed-eyes that were now a crystalline blue.

And just like that, Tasha Ozera was Moroi again.

* * *

><p><strong>I just blew your minds didn't I?<strong>

**Reviews Please : )**


	33. Chapter 33

**DPOV**

"How is she doing?" Lucy asked.

I didn't need to follow her gaze to follow her thinking. She'd been staring at Janine for most of the flight. She wore a look of disbelieving wonder, like she couldn't fathom what she was seeing.

It wasn't every day you saw Janine Hathaway get knocked down, and it was worse considering she'd stayed there.

Janine was notorious among her peers, with the kind of technique they teach at the academies. Her reputation in battle was flawless and yet somehow she'd faltered.

Watching Lucy try to come to terms with that, reminded me of the day Rose and I found Arthur Schoenberg.

That day had been a turning point for Rose. It was the first time she truly realized us guardians are only human. We can bleed and die just like everyone else; even the great ones.

That lesson had come to Rose painfully, and now Lucy was learning it for herself.

"She's hanging in there." I answered her, trying to remain optimistic. "All we can do now is wait."

Abe was sitting with Janine and stroking her head tenderly in his lap.

By either the grace of God or pure luck, Janine had survived the fall. Her limbs had been mangled and she suffered a gaping wound in her head, but with a little help from spirit, her body healed.

Well, externally anyway.

The bones had been reset and her wounds had closed, but she had yet to regain consciousness. Without a doctor among us, we didn't know what to make of that, and we wouldn't know more until we returned to court.

Lucy accepted my answer with a weak nod of the head, never taking her eyes off of Janine.

"You did good work out there." I told her, trying to offer her a distraction.

She finally tore her gaze away from Janine to give me a grateful smile.

"I was scared shitless." She admitted with a light laugh. "I've never seen anything like that in my life."

_You and me both kid…_

"And with any luck, you never will again."

Her face twisted into more of a grimace than a smile, and I couldn't tell if she considered that a bad thing. I certainly hoped so given the devastation. We'd walked into that battle with 40 guardian's and walked out with 23; a number that was just shy of half.

It was a grim outcome that would be felt heavily back at court.

Thinking of court reminded me of a promise I'd made myself earlier.

"You know, you have a lot of potential Guardian Chandler, I'd hate to see you squander it. Lord Ivashkov was right back there, you are a great deal like Rose. You have her same raw talent; you just need to find a way to channel it. If you're ever interested in learning, I can show you how."

While she was clearly pleased by the praise, she was equally annoyed by the criticism. Once again she reminded me of Roza and her indignant behavior those first few weeks back at the academy. Dragging her and Lissa back from Portland had bruised her ego, and she didn't let it go easily.

I endured weeks that felt like years of her prickly disposition before the woman finally caved.

Hopefully Lucy would prove less difficult.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can handle myself." She said slightly better.

_Ok, maybe not._

As eager as I was to return to Roza and the estate, we were forced to make a stop along the way.

Abe wanted Janine within the 4 walls of a hospital, and Han's was eager to lock up Tasha. She had yet to utter a single world since Adrian had restored her, but the look on her face said all I needed.

This was a fate far worse than death, and I was grateful I'd allowed Adrian to talk me into it.

Tasha was going to have to answer for the immensity of her crimes, and this time there would be no wiggling out of it. Never again could she return to her immortal state, and the freedom and power it would grant her.

Knowing that this was the last thing she wanted only made the satisfaction taste that much sweeter.

I watched as Hans ushered Tasha into the confinement of her cell, unable to hold back a smile.

After months of agonizing angst and anxiety, she was back where she belonged and with a ring of finality, the prison doors closed behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

I couldn't tell if I was dreaming.

I didn't remember drifting off to sleep, so the sight before me was confusing.

Dimitri was sitting in a large chair near the window, where the earliest sings of daylight filtered in through the blind. His clothes were changed and his hair appeared damp, but his smile was as beautiful as usual. In his arms he cradled a sleeping Juliet, wearing a look of peaceful serenity.

"Dimitri?" I croaked, trying to wipe the sleep from my eyes.

Dimitri looked up from the baby in his arms and gave me a breathtaking smile.

"Sleeping Beauty awakens." He murmured huskily as he set Juliet down in her bassinet.

I looked around the room for Sydney but she was nowhere to be found.

"She's with Adrian." He spoke up, answering my unspoken thought.

My mind still felt foggy under the haze of sleep, but it was slowly becoming clear.

"Am I awake?" I asked, searching for clarification.

If I was and Dimitri was really here, then that meant the worst of it was over. He'd made it home to me alive, just like he had promised.

Dimitri chuckled softly at my confusion as he lowered himself onto the bed. Placing both hands on either side of my body, he leaned in closer for a kiss.

My eyes closed involuntarily under the weight of his lips and I decided that if I was asleep, I should at least enjoy this. When he pulled his lips apart from my mine, his grin widened.

"I'm home Milaya." He answered, stroking the side of my cheek lightly.

Once his words sank in I wanted to weep. I felt as if my heart might actually explode with relief and I threw my arms around his neck eagerly. The abrupt action caught him by surprise, but he was quick to recover. His own arms wound around me tightly as he pulled my body closer to him.

It seemed our son was also pleased by the reunion, because I felt him kicking around wildly. Dimitri must have felt it too because he pulled back just far enough to glance down at my growing belly. I didn't even realize I'd started crying until Dimitri gently wiped the tears from my cheek.

I stared back at his smiling face before an irritating thought occurred to me. Dimitri must have picked up on my sudden change of mood because he was now eyeing my warily.

"Exactly how long have you been back?" I asked, pulling on the collar of his clean shirt for emphasis.

He looked down sheepishly after running a hand through his still damp hair.

"Not long." He said vaguely and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Long enough to take a shower…"

He sighed heavily before resting his large palm over my belly. The baby kicked in response and he couldn't hide his grin. Even feeling annoyed with him, I couldn't help but smile either.

"Less than an hour." He reassured me, although I didn't feel much better about it. This beautiful reunion couldn't have happened sooner if he had woke me.

Then again, we all know how dangerous that is.

Sleep as is dear to me and food and Dimitri and it was a well-known fact that people feared. You were likely to lose a limb if ever tried to take any of the 3 away from me.

Dimitri's smile grew amused with understand.

I had no doubts that he was reading my mind in that irritating way that only he can, and he knew that I could see his reasoning. He'd been wise not to wake me and he knew it.

Besides, it was probably for the best. I had been spared having to see him battle worn and bloody. After a clean shower and a change, I could almost pretend that I hadn't nearly lost him.

_Speaking of the battle…_

Dimitri picked up on that thought change too because his face quickly became guarded.

"Don't even think about it." I warned severely when his guardian mask fell into place. Just the sight of it told me that something major had gone down, and he'd developed a terrible habit of keeping secrets lately.

When he didn't immediately change his expression my anger grew.

"If you're not going to tell me, then I'll find someone who will." I threatened, removing the blanket from my legs.

My feet barely touched the ground before Dimitri swept them off the floor and back under the covers.

"Rose, it's been an incredibly long night. Can't the interrogation wait?"

He was clearly stalling; a fact that made me more suspicious.

"Can't I just enjoy a few moments of quiet with my beautiful wife." He asked, feigning exhaustion.

Too bad for him I could see right through it. He had a terrible poker face when it came to lying to me.

"Nope" I answered, making sure to pop the P. It was my go to move to irritating him; one I was pretty sure I'd still be taunting him with when were 90.

My lips twisted into a smirk of victory when I caught him rolling his eyes.

He was every bit aware that I did it on purpose and was trying his very best to ignore it.

"I'm sorry Dimitri, but if you wanted a quiet and blissfully ignorant wife, then you married the wrong woman. Now start talking."

The tone in my voice clearly indicated that this was no longer up for discussion and he huffed loudly in defeat.

Now that I was certain I'd won the argument, I relaxed against the headboard and waited. I made a concentrated effort to appear patient while he mentally organized his thoughts, but the longer it took, the more I feared the worst.

By the time he raised his eyes to meet mine; my stomach was jumbled into knots.

_Come on Comrade; just rip the Band-Aid off already!_

Then finally, he began to talk.

"It was a lot harder than we anticipated and we were forced to change the plan."

I listened intently as he explained the gaps in their Intel and the staggering number of ancient Strigoi present.

Younger Strigoi may have perfected the art of working together as a team, but for older Strigoi it was quite rare. They were too blood thirsty and greedy to ever relinquish their power. For them, working together meant surrendering their control and that wasn't something they did often or easily.

Even though he had clearly survived to tell the tale, the thought of him facing 18 ancient Strigoi made me shiver. I'd fought enough in my time to know that they were incredibly lethal.

He had been ever closer to death than I'd imagined.

He also told me about his team and their plans before delving right into the action.

At this point in the story I wasn't feeling too alarmed, but I knew the worst had yet to come. There was an ominous tone to his story telling and I braced myself for the worst. I was so sure the next words out of his mouth would involve Tasha and a great escape.

But those words never came.

Instead he proceeded to tell me about Lucy Chandler and her suggestion for Tasha's fate.

"That's why you offered to watch Juliet, isn't it?" I asked, glancing in the direction of her bassinet. "Sydney wanted to be with Adrian while he recovers.'

And Dimitri nodded.

I had seen Strigoi restorations fist hand and I knew what that kind of power took from a spirit user. It was like letting your gas tank get below E.

My first instinct was to be appalled by the fact that he hadn't killed her, but Dimitri's explanation had me reconsidering. Knowing that his decision had devastated her had me warming up to the idea.

Perhaps for some people there really are punishments worse than death, and Tasha Ozera was one of them.

If Tasha's fate was the reason for Dimitri's nerves, then he could relax because this was a decision I could understand.

Sure the news had been shocking, but not devastating, and yet I was still a bundle of nerves. That lingering feeling of dread suggested that there was more.

When my irritation with the story peaked, I couldn't help blurting out.

"Seriously Comrade, just spit it out already. What aren't you telling me?"

He used his large hands to cover mine while he searched my face with caution. I couldn't tell what he was looking for, but I was about to find out.

"Roza, we need to talk about your mother…"

* * *

><p><strong>Well, Janine is alive but unconscious. The question is will she stay that way?<strong>

**Reviews Please : ) They make me happy. **


	34. Chapter 34

**RPOV**

Luck hadn't been on my side lately, but it was today.

Finding the gym deserted was rare, but somehow today it was. It was like a karmic gift from the universe and I planned on taking full advantage.

It had been over a month since my mother's accident (or more accurately, her attempted murder) and she showed no signs of improvement. Every doctor we spoke to was stumped, and they all said the same thing.

Externally her body had healed, but internally it was another story. The injury to her head had caused severe bleeding in the brain. Spirit had been capable of healing her body, but not her mind, and there was no way of knowing if she'd ever wake up.

My poor father had all but moved into the hospital and he rarely let her out of his sight. My parents weren't the most orthodox when it came to expressing their feelings, but one look at Abe's face said it all.

He loved my mother in his own unique way, and to see her like this was killing him.

Desperate for a distraction, I hit the gym. With the baby due any day now, my activity was limited, but thankfully I still had the ability to hit something. I wailed away on the punching bag with a vengeance, and the sound echoed throughout the gym.

Once again I found myself at the root of collateral damage.

It was the story of my life.

Every time something bad happened to me, the people I loved paid the price. I was like Midas, but in reverse; destroying everything that I touched.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got and after one particularly power punch, the bag exploded. Sand poured out of it quickly and into a puddle on the gym floor.

"Wow" Someone murmured, and I turned towards the sound.

She was grinning widely until she caught sight of my expression. I was pretty sure I looked homicidal and she started to shrink back under my stare.

"I'm sorry" she apologized nervously. "I should go."

She looked familiar and it took me a minute before I could place her.

"It's Lucy right?" I asked, right before she reached the gym doors. She spun back on her heels and turned around to face me.

She had a strange and awe struck smile that reminded me a little of Jill. She had once looked at me with that same admiration; like I was a superhero or something.

With a wordless nod of the head, Lucy smiled.

I waited for her to say something, but she didn't and the silence was starting to get awkward.

"I'm Rose." I told her, after deciding to shake her hand. I walked over there to do so and her smile brightened.

"I know who you are." She said chuckling. "I'm pretty sure everyone does. Your skills are legendary."

She was staring at me so earnestly that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah well, don't believe everything you hear." I told her, picking my gym bag up off the floor.

With the punching bad beyond repair, I decided to go.

"Gyms all yours." I told her walking past. I was just about to push open the double doors when she called out to me.

"Guardian Hathaway, can I ask you a question?"

I sincerely hoped it wouldn't be about my mother, but I nodded my head in consent anyway.

"The night of the raid, Guardian Belikov offered to help me with some training. He said I could possess all the raw talent in the world, but it was useless to me if I couldn't control it."

Yep that sounds like Dimitri.

_Him and his Zen master wisdom… _

"I didn't exactly hear a question in there, but if you're asking if you can work with Dimitri then the answer is yes. Dimitri is a great teacher; you could learn a lot from him."

Her eyes shifted from the ground back up to me.

"Actually I was wondering if you might be willing… I know you've got a lot going on right now, but you're the one I want to learn from."

_Well flatter me why don't ya._

The way her eyes were glowing with excitement reminded me of a small puppy; anxious and eager.

How could I say no to that?

Besides, I kind of liked the idea of having a protégé.

"I'll do what I can, but until this baby comes, I'll be limited."

Lucy nodded her head in eager understanding.

_Puppy…_

"Meet me here tomorrow morning at 8. And if you're late, don't even bother. I've got too much on my plate to waste my time."

"I won't waste it!" she responded easily. "I promise!"

* * *

><p>After my run in with Lucy, I decided to go for a walk. With no real destination in mind, I just let my feet carry me.<p>

Tomorrow was Valentine's Day and there were venders on every corner. It was like Valentine's Day had thrown up on Main Street. There were flowers and balloons, along with oversized stuff animals.

I mean seriously, what are you going to do with a stuffed bear the size of a human? Where do you even put something like that?

There was even one guy who had a stand selling over 50 different kinds of chocolates. Talk about over kill. It was a sea of red and pink as far as the eye could see.

I took my time and browsed, wondering if I should buy something. Balloons and stuffed animals weren't exactly Dimitri's style, so I settled on getting him a card.

The envelope in my hand had me thinking of this morning.

_*Flashback*_

_"On a scale from one to ten, how bad is it today?"_

_I was no longer on active duty, but I still saw Lissa every day. She made it a point to check in on me regularly, especially when the house was empty._

_Unlike me, Dimitri still had a charge to protect, and he couldn't spend his days at home coddling me._

_"Today it's a 6." I answered honestly and her jade green eyes softened._

_The longer my mother stayed comatose, the less likely it seemed that she'd wake up. The thought of never arguing with her again was starting to smother me, and I was feeling the weight of her absence a lot lately._

_All the dysfunctional awkwardness in the world didn't change the love I felt towards her, and I desperately wanted to be able to tell her that._

_I was days away from becoming a mother myself, and it just wouldn't feel right without her. There was so much that I still needed her for, and the only for that to happen was if she woke up._

_"It will get easier." Lissa promised, linking her small hand together with mine._

_She had a faraway look in her eyes; one that I immediately recognized._

_Lissa was thinking about her own family._

_"How did you do it Liss? How did you just accept that they were gone?"_

_She turned to look at me and forced a watery smile._

_"I had you." She answered simply. "And over time I found Christian. Having that kind of love in my life helped me, but it wasn't a cure for the grief. There isn't one."_

_Well that's comforting…_

_"Even after all this time, I can still feel it. I wake up some mornings and just for a moment I forget that it happened. But then the moment is gone and the memories wash over me like a tidal wave. Some days the pain of it is so strong I can barely breathe. But then I'll feel Christian shift in the bed beside me, or catch of glimpse of my round belly, and I feel their presence in my life like a shot of morphine. The pain is always there, but they help numb it; they make it bearable. It's difficult sometimes, carrying on without them. It feels like a betrayal; but it's not. My family would want me to have a good life, and embrace the happiness completely. They'd want that for me, the same way your mother would want that for you."_

_Reaching into her bag next to the coffee table, she pulled out an envelope._

_"This is for you." She said, handing it over to me. On the front I recognized my name in Janine's handwriting._

_"What is this?" I asked cautiously, eyeing the envelope like it might bite me._

_"It's from your mother."_

_My eyes shot upward for the ominous envelope and I couldn't get a good read on her. There were too many conflicting emotions there. They ranged from sympathetic and sad, to guilty and shameful._

_"Your father gave this to me the night before the raid. She knew there was a chance that this might happen, and she couldn't leave without telling you something. That's why she wrote you this letter."_

_Looking back down at the small envelope in my hand, it now felt incredibly heavy. Inside this envelope were what might be the last words my mother ever says to me._

_"I can't." I decided, setting the letter back down on the coffee table._

_I could understand now why Dimitri fought reading Alexander's letter. A person's words can be a powerful thing, and I wasn't sure I was ready for this._

_Hell, I might never be ready for this._

_*End Flashback*_

Lissa didn't push me on the issue, but only insisted that I think about it. I could open the letter if and when I was every ready.

* * *

><p>Opening the front door of our apartment that night, I could hear the sound of several male voices arguing.<p>

"Does this piece look blue to you?"

"I'd say it's more like Indigo."

"Indigo is a shade of blue you idiot!"

"You're the idiot!"

"You're all idiots! Now shut up and help me. Rose will be home any minute!"

By the time I reached the nursery door I was laughing, and the sight that met me made it worse.

Dimitri was sitting in the middle of the room, with the contents of a large box surrounding him.

Adrian and Christian were still debating colors, while Eddie and Abe argued over the directions.

It was the perfect set up for a joke and I couldn't help myself.

"Geez…how many penises does it take to assemble one crib?" I asked, leaning casually against the door frame.

"On a normal day I'd say one, unless the directions are in Italian." Dimitri answered, shooting a cross look in Abe's direction.

It was rare for my father to leave the hospital, and if his irritation was any indicator, he regretted doing so.

I couldn't help but chuckle over their disgruntled expressions.

"How was I supposed to know the crib was Italian? The website said it was the top of the line, and that was good enough for me!" Abe defended.

_This was too good._

"Yeah well next time read the fine print." Christian grumbled, picking up another piece for inspection. Meanwhile Eddie was off to the side, still squinting at the directions. I didn't know why he even bothered. It wasn't like if he stared at the words long enough they would magically turn into English.

"Why not just ask Sydney?" I suggested, still struggling to contain my laughter. The whole scene was just absurd.

5 sets of mouths fell open simultaneously, and I could no longer hold it in. If they kept this up, I was going to pee my pants.

"I completely forgot Sydney speaks Italian." Adrian admitted sheepishly, and he caught a stuffed animal in the face for it. It said sailed across the room with a precision that could only have come from Dimitri.

"You mean to tell me that we could have finished this 5 hours ago?" Eddie asked incredulously.

All eyes in the room were now on him.

Adrian turned on me with narrow eyes that only made me laugh harder.

"Thanks a lot Little Dhamphir."

And then he pulled out his cell phone to call Sydney.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay everyone, try not to worry. Janine is still comatose, but I'm a happy endings kind of girl. If it makes you feel any better, that baby will be showing its cute little face shortly...<strong>

**Don't forget to leave a review : )**

**P.S. I'm open to some name suggestions.**


	35. Chapter 35

**RPOV**

One phone call and two hours later, our nursery was finally complete.

Assembling the crib had been the last item on our to do list, and once the bedding was in place, we stepped back to admire our work.

Personally I found the nautical theme quite soothing, as were the ocean blue walls.

There was a fully stocked changing table sitting adjacent to the rocker, and it offered a nice view from the window. With its wide width and extensive padding, I wouldn't even mind all the sleepless night spent sitting in it.

There was even an adorable little sailboat lamp illuminating one corner, casting just the right amount of light over the crib.

"I feel like were still missing something…" I mused as Dimitri wrapped his arms around me from behind. It wasn't the easy feat it used to be considering I'd tripled in size.

Resting his chin on the top of my head, he laughed softly.

"Just the baby Milaya. He's your missing piece."

My eyes shifted towards the empty crib as my mind tried to picture him sleeping in it. It was something I'd been doing a lot of lately.

The end of a pregnancy is such a strange thing.

You spend the better part of a year learning to adjust to someone living in your body, and then one day you just wake up and it suddenly all ends.

Just like that.

Some tiny person, who you've never even met, emerges from your body and changes your life forever.

That concept alone is scary enough, and that's before you even start considering all the logistics.

Trust me when I tell you, it can drive a person insane.

We stood together in the nursery for a few moments longer before my insatiable stomach spoiled the mood. Dimitri chuckled once more at its noisy impatience before leading me out to the kitchen.

Dinner that night was a quiet affair, and I wasn't even surprised when Dimitri crashed early. He'd been working double shifts like crazy, all in preparation for the baby. Time off wasn't easy for a guardian to come by and he'd need to call in a lot of favors.

In fact, the lovable lug was so exhausted, he had actually fallen asleep with his shoes still on.

Shaking my head in silent laughter, I carefully removed them from his feet. He stirred slightly under my touch, but after some incoherent mumbling, he rolled back over and fell asleep. I paused for a few seconds to gaze at him affectionately and after brushing the hair out of his eyes, I tip toed quietly out of the room.

Unlike my dreaming husband, I was nowhere near ready for sleep, so I searched for a way to pass the time.

It wasn't until the house was completely spotless and every article of baby clothing had been washed, dried, and put away, that I realized it was a pointless endeavor.

I wasn't the only person to receive one of my mother's cryptic letters, and the envelope kept calling to me like a beacon.

Apparently my restless mind would find no peace until I gave in and read the letters.

I knew Dimitri would be fine with me reading his; he's already offered to let me read it. Unlike me, he hadn't procrastinated and opened his soon after receiving it.

When I couldn't avoid it any longer, I retrieved both envelopes from the table and carried them into the nursery.

A gesture like this was out of character for my mom, and the anticipation had my stomach all twisted.

After a few moments of indecision I picked up Dimitri's letter first and then I settled myself into the chair. The envelope shook slightly in my unsteady hands and I had to take a deep breath before opening it.

Here goes nothing…

_Dimitri,_

_If someone had told me 5 years ago that I would be happy to call you my son, I would have told them that I'd sooner turn myself Strigoi. _

_Not only were you older than Rose, it was inappropriate, and I was so certain you would ruin her life._

_Well it pains me to say this, but I feel like I must so…Dimitri, I was wrong._

_(Yeah yeah, try not to look so shocked about it. Even Einstein had his days.)_

_The thing is, not only did you prove me wrong, but you reminded me of something; something I had forgotten long ago. _

_You see, love is a powerful thing, and there was a time in my life when I knew that; when I believed it. _

_But then my father died, and I watched that grief destroy my mother. _

_For most of my life I had regarded her as the strongest woman I know, and then one day she wasn't. The pain of that had completely consumed her until she was nothing more than a shell._

_It was then that I promised myself that I would never again let that happen. Ibrahim begged me not to leave him, but I could see no other option. Walking away wasn't about just protecting myself; it was for him and Rose as well. The life of a guardian is a dangerous one, and we live in a constant state of peril. By walking away I honestly thought I was doing them both a favor. I truly believed that. _

_In my eyes, severing ties to Rose was simply a kindness and it would spare her the future grief of ever losing me. How could she mourn a mother she barely knew?_

_I know how crazy that must sound to you now, but at the time, it made perfect sense._

_I thought my absence would her stronger, and in many ways it has, but it didn't mean that she'd be immune to any pain. Just the opposite actually._

_I saw what became of rose in the weeks after she lost you, and I watched helplessly as history repeated itself._

_She became a mere shell, just like my mother, and I knew my sacrifice had been for nothing. _

_Loosing years of my life with Ibrahim and my relationship with Rose; it had all been in vain. _

_In fact, I'd probably done more harm than good. _

_That realization brought something with it worse than the shame and guilt combined. It brought remorse; a feeling who's chief characteristic is that nothing can be done about it. Too much time had passed and too much damage had been done. _

_Or so I thought._

_I saw the way Rose fought for you, and your loves unwavering faith. It's that same love that evoked a miracle and it's why you're standing here today._

_You are alive Dimitri because Rose willed it so, and she never let anyone tell her otherwise. Your love made her stronger than any of my misguided attempts ever could. She is brave, bold, and beautiful…and it's all because of you. _

_My pride enabled me from saying it as often as I could, but no mother has ever been more proud. _

_I am in awe of the woman that my daughter is today, I only wish I had told her that sooner._

_As the two of you embark on your own path to parenthood, I ask only one thing: Don't make the same mistakes I did._

_Teach your children the true power of love and the strength that comes from believing in it. _

_I'd tell you it's your job now to look after Rose, but I honestly just don't see the point. You've been looking after Rose since the moment you first met. _

_You believed in her when no one else did, and for that I will always be grateful. _

_It's a comfort to know I can leave this world, knowing that my daughter is in good hands._

_You are a good man Dimitri, and it's been a privilege to call you my son._

_Sincerely,_

_Janine Hathaway_

The tears that been running steadily down my cheeks, now completely obstructed my view. I wiped away at my eyes furiously trying to clear them in an attempt to finish reading her letter.

_P.S._

_I'm not sure where the two of you stand on baby names, but I'd like to make a suggestion. _

_I firmly believe that a child's name should have meaning, which is why I am suggesting Sebastian. Not only was it my father's name, but it's the name of a patron saint as well. St. Sebastian is the guardian of soldiers and athletes, which makes it a fitting tribute. _

_Rose has always been clear on the position of her name, but to me it has always suited her completely. _

_There wasn't a nurse in the hospital that could resist her beauty, but they learned fast of her prickly disposition. Her beauty has always drawn people in, but our Rose is not without her thorns. _

_My point is, a person's name gives them something to live up to, so make you give that baby a good one. _

I continued to sit in that rocker for over an hour, just reading and re-reading her letter.

There was so much about my mother I could never understand, and all we'd needed was one conversation to clear it up.

_Typical…_

I knew the reasonable thing was to read the next letter, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Not yet anyway.

So instead I just there, holding the envelope in my hands until finally, the room began to suffocate me. I thought about waking Dimitri to talk it all out, but settled on escaping to the kitchen.

After so much emotional upheaval today, I was in desperate need of some comfort food.

I rummaged in the cabinets for some sort of treat when I was struck by an unusual craving. After double checking to make sure we had the ingredients on hand, I reluctantly went to work on the batter.

Chocolate chip muffins are a joy to eat, but I've never been thrilled about making them. For a person like me, with a culinary handicap, it's safer to cook things of the instant variety.

As I moved aimlessly around the kitchen, I let my mind wander and tried to ignore the tightening sensations. Braxton Hicks contractions are quite common at this stage of pregnancy and I'd been suffering through them all day.

I guess that's one good thing about being a guardian; I've got an incredibly high threshold for pain.

Let's just hope that comes in handy during labor…

I was vaguely aware that the intensity was growing, but I didn't really think too much of it. With the mixing bowl in one hand, I crossed our large kitchen as I made my way towards the fridge. If it hadn't been for my close proximity, I would have stumbled when a jolt of pain suddenly hit me. Using my free hand that wasn't holding the bowl, I grabbed onto the counter to help steady me.

I was beginning to think the pain might be something more, but as quick as the pain hit me, it had passed. I had just enough time to crack an egg in the bowl before another wave of pain washed over me; this time with more force.

Unlike with the previous one, this pain was slower to pass and I figured it would be wise to wake Dimitri.

I released my grip on the counter to cross the kitchen, but I barely even made it two feet.

The glass mixing bowl I'd been holding shattered onto the floor and my eyes quickly darted down to follow it. There were shards of glass and muffin mix scattered across the ground, but my eyes barely even registered it. I was far too preoccupied with the wetness running down my legs and the puddle of liquid at my feet.

Yep.

It's definitely time to call Dimitri…

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry about the late update, I've had a busy week.<strong>

**What did you think of Janine's letter, and her baby name suggestion? Next chapter will be Rose giving birth to the little guy, and I know you are all anxious to meet him. Any predictions on who he will look like?**

**Don't forget to review : )**


	36. Chapter 36

**DPOV**

I wasn't sure which one woke me; the sound of Rose's voice or shattered glass. But when my eyes shot open and found her missing, I all but leapt from the bed.

"Rose?" I called out when I didn't find her in the living room.

"In here." She called back from what sounded like the kitchen. Her voice was tight and strained, encouraging me to quicken my pace.

After rounding the corner where I knew I would find her, my eyes nearly bugged out of my head.

She was standing in the kitchen, completely surrounded by broken glass.

"What happened?" I asked, quickly rushing to her side.

With careful movements I led her away from the glass out of fear that she'd cut her bare feet. The moment I had her a safe distance away, I darted back out of the room. In less than a minute I'd returned with a broom in hand and urgently started to sweep.

"What were you thinking making muffin's at 2am?"

I tried my hardest not to let my annoyance seep through, but it wasn't easy in my sleepy state.

Rose had been blessed with an abundance of talent, but none of those applied to the kitchen. She'd started countless kitchen fires over the years, but she was nothing if not persistent. I worked endlessly to convince her to steer clear of the kitchen, but the woman just wouldn't be swayed.

Her intentions were good and I knew she meant well, but her endeavors always ended in disaster. Nine times of 10, she just made me more mess for me to clean up.

_Like right now…_

"Dimitri…" she started to say, but her words were abruptly cut off.

I turned my attention from the broken glass I was sweeping and noticed her wincing in pain. She had one hand over her stomach while the other gripped the counter for support.

Seeing her face contorted and twisted in pain; I quickly abandoned my work.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked, my eyes sweeping over her body.

Any relief I might have felt at discovering no injuries was eclipsed when I caught sight of her wet pants.

_Oh Crap._

The lines on her face softened as her pain started to pass, but I remained frozen like a statue.

This was it.

The baby was coming.

My wife had just gone into labor.

All at once my mind was suddenly bombarded and the weight of this realization hit me.

Rose was content to watch me stand frozen in a state of silent terror before her tiny hands reached up to cup my cheeks. She extended onto her tip toes to look into my eyes, and an amused smile played on her lips.

"Just breathe Comrade. It's okay."

The sound of her voice was like a shock of electricity and it jolted me out of my state.

"The baby is coming?" I asked looking for confirmation and she nodded her head and smiled.

_Holy crap…this is really happening._

I could only assume she had picked up on my panic because her smile escalated into laughter.

"Wow. And here I thought you would be the calm one." She teased before carefully stepping around me.

"Where are you going?" I asked, spinning around to follow her.

Even to me my voice sounded slightly hysterical.

She glanced at her lower body meaningfully and gestured to her wet pants.

"I'm going to change." She replied, still regarding me with amusement.

Clearly she was enjoying this.

_Calm, cool Dimitri, completely crumbling under the pressure._

"Okay, what should I do?" I asked, letting the words slip my lips without permission.

It was a ridiculous question; I already knew what to do. The problem was getting my shocked body to cooperate.

"You mean other than relax?" She asked with a slight shake of the head. "You could always try sticking to the plan."

_Of course!_

The plan! It was something we'd come up with a few weeks ago.

Rose shook her head laughing as she entered the bedroom, and she was still laughing when she closed the door behind her.

_I'm never going to live this one down._

Once Rose was out of sight, I started making a mental checklist. Having a task helped me focus and it felt good to be in motion. By the time Rose had returned from changing, I had everything ready to go.

Her doctor had been phone and was already in route to the hospital. I'd also retried her overnight bag from the hall closet where we'd stashed it, and the car was waiting idly for us out front.

She emerged from the bedroom, still the picture of serenity and I was glad at least one of us was handling this.

_Me; I was a total mess._

"Did you call Lissa?" She asked as I helped her gingerly out of the car.

She'd had another contraction on the drive over, sending me into a full blown panic. I'd never been so relieved to see the front doors of the clinic or the hospital staff that stood out front to greet us.

"Not yet." I admitted, helping her ease into a wheelchair. "But I can if you'd like."

Rose considered this for a moment before shaking her head no.

"That's okay. It's the middle of the night and she'll just sit around here waiting. We can all everyone once he's born."

It was a reasonable argument that I wholeheartedly agreed with, although I was almost certain Lissa wouldn't share our opinion.

"Are you ready dear?" A nurse asked, coming to stand behind Rose's wheelchair.

Squeezing my hand she looked up at me fondly before turning to the nurse with a smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

And with that, we wheeled her in.

* * *

><p><strong>RPOV<strong>

Okay, so remember all those times where I bragged about my immunity to pain?

Well apparently it doesn't apply to childbirth.

I have been shot, stabbed, beat and bitten, but nothing could compare to this. I didn't even know this kind of pain existed.

_If I had, we probably wouldn't be here._

I mean seriously! What was Olena thinking signing up for this four times? Personally I'd rather saw off my own leg! Was it any wonder that I was an only child? Clearly my mother had the right idea!

But thinking of Olena reminded me of an afternoon awhile back, and some sage Belikov wisdom she had given me.

"The moment you hold that beautiful boy in your arms, all the pain that you felt will be worth it."

_Well here's to hoping she was right._

"How are you holding up?" Dimitri asked, tenderly wiping me down with a cool wash cloth.

We'd been at this for hours and with very little progress. It seemed that my son would make an entrance in true Hathaway fashion, and he'd take his sweet time about doing it.

_Clearly he didn't get his punctuality from Dimitri._

Patience was something I had very little of to begin with, and the pain only shortened my fuse.

Dimitri had been a real trooper, taking my verbal abuse in stride and I made a mental note to thank him for it later.

I glanced around the room at my sterilized prison and my eyes landed on a small surgical tray.

"I'd be a whole lot better if you passed that scalpel over here." I told him, using my head to point in that direction.

Dimitri chuckled softly at my over dramatic nature and brought the cold compress back to my forehead.

"You laugh but I'm serious!" I warned. "I'm about two seconds away from evicting this kid myself. It can't hurt any worse than it does now."

And I meant it.

You hear a lot of awful things about childbirth, and every one of them is true. I felt like every bone in my body was breaking, ripping through me from the inside out. I was barely even able to finish my thought before another wave of pain completely submerged me. The contractions continued to increase in strength and speed, and I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from screaming.

Dimitri dropped what he was doing to offer me his hand, and without hesitation I grabbed hold of it tightly. I noticed when the action made him wince slightly in pain, and as soon as the pain passed, I released him.

"I'm sorry." I apologized after noticing his hand was throbbing and red. He flexed his sore hand and fingers with a smile before adamantly shaking his head.

"Don't apologize Milaya. I can take a little pain. Besides, it's nothing compared to what you're going through."

I couldn't argue with that.

I closed my eyes trying to block out the pain, but the sound of the doorknob startled them open.

"How's my favorite patient?" The doctor asked, casually strolling into the room.

It was nearly 6 in the morning but he showed no signs of slowing. With a coffee in one hand and a clipboard in the other, he flipped it open to read the latest notes.

"I'll be a whole lot better once you get Andre the giant's kid out of me." I grumbled, and it caused everyone in the room to laugh.

Thanks to Sydney's insistence and those god awful baby books, I had decided against accepting any pain meds. According to the research it could slow down your labor and it increased the risk of complications. Of course I had made that decision not knowing he'd move slowly anyway and now I had missed my chance.

So much for making an educated decision.

_Stupid Sydney and her books…_

"I'm inclined to agree with Rose on this one." Dimitri said and the doctor looked up from his clipboard and laughed.

"Well then let's see what I can do about it." He smiled.

After washing his hands and snapping on some fresh gloves, and rolled his stool over into place.

Normally I got a kick out of watching Dimitri squirm during this part, but today I was too miserable to care. The level of pain I was experiencing kind of ruined it.

He immediately began to poke around in that uncomfortable way of his before silently signaling the nurse. The next thing I knew, he had the equipment tray rolled in and he looked up at the both of us with excitement.

"Alright you two. Time to become parents!"

* * *

><p><strong>DPOV<strong>

Growing up in a household made entirely of women had given me a unique appreciation for them. They were every bit as tough as any man could be; possibly even more.

That being said, after watching what Rose had endured today, that appreciation had only grown.

My hat was off to all the women worldwide for enduring the misery of childbirth. I had battled Strigoi and butchered meat, but not once had I witnessed something so brutal.

"Alright Rose, you're doing great, but right now I need you to push."

I had crawled onto the bed to take a position behind her and her tired body leaned weakly against me.

"Okay, now on this next contraction I want you to push, and it's important you keeping going until I stop counting. Can you do that?"

With a determined nod she shifted awkwardly and settled herself into position. Both of her hands were clasped tightly around mine and were continuing to increase in pressure.

"Okay Rose, this is it. Now take a good deep breath and push!" He ordered.

Right on cue she began pushing, bearing down with all her might. Her body trembled from the exertion on her grip on my hand tightened.

"10, 9, 8" He counted, his hands shifting slightly under the sheet. "7, 6, 5."

The longer he counted the harder she pushed.

"4, 3, 2 and stop."

Rose's body sagged backwards against me as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"That's great Rose, you're doing great. Now I need you to do it again for me."

Watching Rose suffer was unbearable and I desperately wanted to help. It was my fault she was suffering like this, and that the baby was so big.

"You're doing great Milaya, just a little bit longer."

I knew words of encouragement would do little to help, but I felt I should still say something anyway.

I brushed my fingertips lightly across her cheek, but her hands slapped away my efforts.

"Touching me is what got us here in the first place Comrade."

Her tone was harsh and bitter, but I knew not to take offense.

"Okay Rose, I can see the head so were almost there. Just give me one more big push."

"I can't!" Rose cried, slumping back against my chest. "Please, it's too hard."

Tears had begun to fall steadily down her cheek and I could practically feel my heart breaking.

"You can do this Milaya; you're the strongest woman that I know. I' m right here Roza, and were in this together."

She looked up at me with tears still in her eyes, but I could see her resolve taking form.

"Okay Rose, are you ready?" The doctor asked, and she nodded once more with determination.

"I'm ready."

She gave the next contraction everything that she had and her efforts didn't go unrewarded.

The next sound that I heard brought a tear to my eye as the sound of his cries filled the room.

"Congratulations." The doctor smiled. "It's a boy!"

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is, they are finally parents! How adorable was a freaked out Dimitri?<strong>

**Don't forget to leave a review : )**

**Also this story is starting to come to an end and I'm considering the idea of a sequel. Is that something you'd be interested in?**


	37. Chapter 37

**RPOV**

There are some experiences in life too overwhelming to describe, and no amount of words could do it justice.

Meeting your child for the first time is one of them.

He came screaming into the world at 5:53 am and I knew our lives would never be the same.

And neither would we.

With ten fingers and toes and one healthy set of lungs, he was the textbook definition of perfect; no question. But his perfection went beyond that.

At least it did for me.

Sitting beside me on the bed, with one large arm draped over the both of us, Dimitri and I admired our baby boy.

"He's so beautiful." I murmured softly, trailing one light finger across his tanned but rosy cheek. It seemed he had inherited our olive colored completion.

"Just like his mother." Dimitri replied, pressing a tender kiss to my temple. I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed contently.

Looking at my beautiful son was like looking at a miniature Dimitri. His full head of hair was the same chocolate color as Dimitri's, only the poor kid had inherited my curls. (Look luck taming that mess as a teenager…)

His face however was a tiny replica of Dimitri, from the curve of his jaw to the set of his nose. He had the tiniest little pink mouth with perfect cupids' bows lips, but his eyes were what made him truly remarkable.

One of his eyes was colored brown, just as warm and rich as Dimitri's, but the other was a crisp ocean blue. The contrast was quite startling and gave him a personality all his own. There's always a chance with newborns that their eye color could change, but I honestly hoped that would happen.

He was completely unique and completely ours; a thought that had left me in tears.

Dimitri's chest rumbled with laughter underneath my head and I knew he found an overly emotional Rose quite amusing. Pretty ironic when you considered the way he had balled like a baby when he was born.

Calling him "he" in my head prompted me to remember something.

"I didn't get a chance to mention this before, but I read one of my mother's letters."

Dimitri shifted slightly on the bed to better look into my eyes and I could see the shock mixed with curiosity.

"Which one?" He asked carefully, trying to gage if this topic was up for discussion.

"Yours." I answered simply, looking back down at the baby in my arms. "She had a lot of nice things to say, and some pretty good suggestions."

"About the baby's name?" He asked, and I nodded my head in agreement.

"What do you think?" I asked turning to look at him, and his warm brown eyes returned to the baby.

He was swaddled tightly in a blue blanket with his curls poking out of a matching hat. He had his eyes closed and his lips parted as he breathed heavily in a deep sleep.

"I think for the son of two guardian's the name suits him. Not to mention it's a nice tribute to your mother. We could even call him Bash for short. If he's anything like his mother he'll enjoy hitting things." He teased.

The playful insult aside, he made a good point. Plus I liked the way it rolled off the lips.

"Bash Belikov." I said out loud, trying it out for size. "I like it."

Dimitri looked between the two of us and smiled.

"Then Sebastian Belikov it is."

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for the news to spread and the room was soon swarming with visitors. Lissa and Christian were the first to stop by and naturally the last two to leave. In a stroke of luck, they were already at the hospital when we called because Lissa had a prenatal appointment of her own.<p>

"I still can't believe it." I said floored, still trying to process her news.

She was sitting in the chair closest to my bed, holding a sleeping Sebastian in her arms.

"Tell me about it." She replied, never taking her eyes off the baby. "I thought Christian was going to pass out."

I laughed loudly at her words and the mental picture she'd created.

"I can't believe you're having twins."

I'd already said that at least a dozen times, but the concept still didn't seem real to me.

When Lissa had showed up this morning, she had done so with disapproval, clearly put out that we hadn't called sooner. I explained my reasoning as much as I could, but she remained unsatisfied. In the end, I made it up to her by allowing her to spend the entire day here, despite how desperate I was to take a nap. Thankfully visiting hours were winding down and she was eventually forced to go home.

Adrian and Sydney had stopped by as well, but couldn't stay nearly as long because of Juliet.

In addition to them, a few others stopped by, including Sonya, Mikhail and Han's. Even Lucy had dropped by when she heard the news and realized why I had blown off our morning training session. It was a nonstop parade of people coming through my hospital room, with everyone coming to visit except my father.

When Abe hadn't answered a single one of my calls, I eventually sent Dimitri down to my mom's room to look for him.

"Well, did you find him?" I asked once Dimitri re-entered the room. I was a little preoccupied nursing Bash, so it took me a moment to notice his face.

He was wearing a shocked and slightly confused expression that immediately put me on edge.

"What happened?" I asked, feeling my panic bubble to the surface. My mother was already lost to me; I couldn't lose my father too.

For someone who had spent the first 17 years of her life needing no one, I had actually become pretty attached.

The frantic edge in my voice brought him back to the present and he shook his head slightly trying to clear it.

"I don't know how to tell you this Roza, but your mother…she woke up."

My mind froze and my heart stopped as my overly tired brain tried to process this.

"Abe said when he woke up this morning, her eyes were open. She didn't say anything and it didn't last long, but the doctors now seem more optimistic. They spent most of the day running tests on her and that's why we couldn't get a hold of him."

It was unbelievable.

After resigning myself to the idea of never speaking to her again, my mother was now back in my life.

* * *

><p>Opening my eyes the next morning, I was met with the most beautiful sight.<p>

Dimitri was sitting in the hospital chair beside me, snoring softly as he held the baby. Just like his father, Bash was sleeping as well and their faces were mirror images of one another.

Looking at the two of them filled me with more love and pride than I could imagine. Once again we'd done the impossible and I now had two miracles I could call my own. If life continued on this way, I'd have to redefine the word.

Knock Knock

After hearing the soft sound, the door opened, but my view of the visitor was obstructed by balloons. A plethora of baby blue suddenly exploded through the doorway and trailing behind it was Abe.

"What did you do Old Man? Buy the whole gift shop?"

In his hand he held a variety of blue balloons in various shapes and sizes. He also held a vase of Roses that had been dyed a startling shade of blue, and last but not least, a giant blue teddy bear that rivaled the size of a small child. I didn't even know how he was carrying all of it.

"Only the best for my grandson." He smirked, and it was the kind of smile I hadn't seen in weeks.

In seemed my mother's progress yesterday had done wonders for his mood, and it was nice to see him behaving more like himself.

"Speaking of my grandson…" He implied, beginning to move in Dimitri's direction. His noisy entrance had woken the both of them and Dimitri handed Bash over to his grandpa.

Abe studied Sebastian carefully with a growing smile before looking up at the both of us.

"He's a handsome little guy, that's for sure. Must be those Mazur genes." He winked and both Dimitri and I rolled our eyes.

"Dad, meet your grandson. Sebastian Ibrahim Belikov."

His eyes shot back up towards me when he heard his name and his smile widened.

Deciding on a middle name hadn't been easy, but using my father's name seemed appropriate.

In the last few years, he'd been instrumental to our story, starting from the moment I first met him in Russia. Shady business dealings aside, he was a force to be reckoned with, and he made for one hell of a namesake. If Bash inherited even a fraction of Abe's ambition, he would have no trouble making his way in the world.

"I don't know what to say." Abe admitted humbly. My father wasn't the type to be rendered speechless and it pleased me to be able to do so.

"Just say you won't corrupt him and we'll call it even."

Both he and Dimitri laughed and the rich sound filled the room.

"I make you no promises." He grinned looking the part of a Cheshire cat.

With my genetic lack of impulse control and Abe's penchant for dirty dealings, we would definitely have our work cut out for us with this kid.

* * *

><p>After a two day stint in the hospital, we were finally released and now faced the daunting task of new parenthood. After a week of late night feedings and never ending poop, I was teetering on the brink of sanity. I hadn't seen a shower in going on three days and sleep was becoming a rare commodity.<p>

It was the middle of the night and I'd just gotten Bash to sleep when I heard a soft knock at the door.

"Are you ready?" Christian asked, looking around the apartment nervously.

"Yep." I announced, pulling the door closed behind us.

I wasn't counting on Dimitri waking up anytime soon, but I'd made the appropriate arrangements anyway. After leaving him the baby monitor on our nightstand, I attached a small note. I kept it vague and to the point; wording it as evasively as possible. If Dimitri knew the true nature of my absence he'd probably lose it.

"I never should have let you talk me into this." Christian whined.

It was the middle of the night according to Moroi time, but the sun was shining brightly on the courtyard. February would be over in less than a week, but the frigid winter air remained persistent. I pulled my jacket tightly against the chill as we rounded the side of the building.

"Dimitri's going to kill me when he finds out about this…"

"Would you quit complaining Christian? You need this just as much as I do."

His eyes held a spark of annoyance but he didn't deny it.

In less than two hours they were shopping her off, and Tasha would spend the rest of her life in Tarasov.

After her return to court and capture, the council had spent weeks debating on what to do with her and only recently had come to a decision.

When I'd mentioned wanting to see her before she left, Dimitri all but forbid it, forcing me to get creative.

I could understand his concern for me; truly I could. But it did little to lesson my need for closure. After all the pain and suffering I'd endured by her hand, I could finally put this whole ordeal behind me. No more painful trials and no more nightmares. My son was alive, my mom was on the mend and Tasha was finally where she belonged.

In the battle of good and evil, good had triumphed and it was important to me that she know that.

In an effort to be discreet, we used the door around back and found Mikhail on the other side waiting for us.

"We still need some to prep her for transport, so I need you to say your peace quickly."

Christian and I both nodded our head in understanding before he led us down the narrow hall.

"Are you ready?" Mikhail asked pausing just outside the door.

My stomach was still twisted in knots at the thought of doing this, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't. It took me by surprise when Christian suddenly grabbed hold of my hand, linking them both together in solidarity.

"She's ready." He announced, turning his head to give me a nod. I took a steadying breath and nodded back before turning to face the door.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

><p><strong>There it is!<strong>

** Baby Belikov is here and he's a cutie. **

**Who's ready for Janine to wake up for good? And for Tasha to finally get whats coming to her.**

**Don't forget to leave me a review, I always enjoy hearing from you : )**


	38. Chapter 38

**RPOV**

Upon entering the small room, we found that Tasha was already waiting for us.

She looked in surprise at our entrance before quickly averting her gaze back down to the table. It seemed the guardians had learned a thing or two since her last stint here because she was wearing more restraints than the usual.

In some ways the added effort seemed pointless, but I could still see the logic in their reasoning. She may have lost the ability to return to a Strigoi but that didn't make her any less dangerous. She was still capable of killing someone and the guardians were wise to remember that.

But the change in her restraints wasn't the only change that I had noticed. Her appearance seemed more haggard as well.

"Just say what you want and get this over with." She announced, her voice sounding bitter and defeated. It was a stark contrast to the arrogant woman I had spoken to only months ago.

"This is more about what I wanted to hear you say." Christian spoke up, taking a tentative step closer to the table.

Her head snapped up at sound of his advanced and her eyes became hard and angry.

"Look at me Christian. Look at what's become of me. Do you honestly expect me to apologize? Haven't I suffered enough?"

"It will never be enough." He told her flatly.

As I watched the two of them staring one another down, an unexpected memory came to mind.

It was the day that I first met Tasha and found them ice skating on the frozen pond. Thanks to the ostracism forced onto them by Christian's parents, Tasha had felt more comfortable spending her visit at the old guardian's cabin.

Dimitri had introduced us in an effort to teach me the cost of battle scars, and I remember being completely in awe of her. The way she had fought for Christian under incredible circumstances and the amount of strength it must have required to do it. She was like some sort of super hero and part of the reason why I had been so envious of her. She was every bit as suitable for Dimitri as me, if not more. She was beautiful, brave, and even closer to his age. He had every reason in the world to pick her over me. Every reason but one.

He loved me.

"Well?" She asked, drawing me back into the present.

She was staring at me expectantly, but I didn't even know her question.

"Come on Rose. Are you going to stand there all night or spit it out already?"

Her tone was harsh and her eyes were angry, but I could easily read the pain behind them. I took the time to really look at the woman who sat before me, but I could no longer see the monster. She wasn't the demon from hell who enjoyed wreaking havoc on my life. Deep down she was still that same woman from the pond, only she'd let her sour heart get the best of her.

It's easy to forget sometimes, all the different roads we walked to get here, or how each person's story came to be.

But there's a story behind it all. How a picture got on the wall, or a scar got on someone's face. Sometimes the stories ae simple and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking.

In Tasha's case it was the latter.

Once upon a time she'd been a good person who had the misfortune of loving the wrong man. It was a powerful thing to be so loved by another, and that lack of love could make a person desperate; I would know.

In a motion similar to Christian, I took a hesitant step forward, making sure to look Tasha in the eye.

"I just came here to tell you that I forgive you." I finally said.

Beside me I heard Christian scoff while Tasha's ice blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Christian blurted out when he realized I was serious. His reaction was understandable; I had even surprised myself.

I had walked into this room with every intention of laying into her, but looking at her now it didn't feel right.

"What makes you think I even want your forgiveness?" She hissed. "What makes you think I care?"

Her voice held a slight edge that was laced with angry defiance.

"Honestly, I doubt you do. But I'm still giving you my forgiveness anyway. Forgiving you will give me peace, and considering everything you've done to me, I think I've earned that. I've earned the chance to be happy. I had to fight long and hard to get to this point in my life, and now I am going to enjoy it. When you drive out of here today, I will finally have peace and I hope someday you will find some peace too."

"Well I don't." Christian grumbled.

Clearly he wasn't as evolved as me.

A heavy silence filled the air as she stared back at me completely neutral. But slowly and surely a crooked smile twisted on her lips.

"And how about your mother Rose? Does she share your sense of enlightenment?"

My eyes hardened a bit as she tried to bait me, but I wouldn't bite.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "I can always ask her for you when she wakes up."

"Well from what I understand, it won't be long now…"

Now this part really caught my attention.

"How the hell could you possibly know that?" I blurted out, completely ignoring my previous plan to remain calm. She'd been in isolation since the moment she'd returned to court. How could she have heard any news about my mother?

"Oh Rose, you still don't get it. To have money is to have power and everybody has a price."

Her words were like ice in my veins. If her taunting's held any truth, then we still had traitors among us. We were still in danger.

Her smile grew in satisfaction as my face paled from this realization.

"Like I told you before Rose, I'm not interested in your forgiveness."

* * *

><p>Tasha's words continued to haunt me on our eerily quiet walk home. If Christian's silence was any indicator, he was just as trouble about this as I was.<p>

We were still struggling to deal with the blow back from our past attacks, and then to learn that the threat was still out there; still lurking. It was pretty disconcerting to say the least. We wouldn't survive another attack of that magnitude; not in our current state.

When I opened the door to our apartment I found everything the way I'd left it.

Bash and Dimitri were still sleeping soundly and the note on the nightstand appeared untouched.

_Thank God for some blessings._

Or at least that's what I should have thought. Any hope that I had of keeping my little meeting a secret had been burnt to hell now. This new information was too big a secret to keep, leaving me no choice but to tell Dimitri about this now.

_Stupid Tasha; even when she loses she wins…_

It took a number of deep breaths and a mental pep talk, but I eventually found myself back in the bedroom.

Dimitri was sleeping deeply with a look of total peace and I hated that what I was about to tell him was going to shatter all that.

"Roza?" He asked groggily, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

There was a time in our lives when the sound of a pin dropping was enough to wake him, but the arrival of Bash and his erratic sleep patterns had changed all that. Between helping me out with the baby and his own guardian duties, the man was completely beat.

Reaching absentmindedly over to the nightstand, he picked up our small alarm clock and peered at it. I watched as his eyes strained to read the time.

_4:33am_

"What are you doing up? Is it the baby?" He asked.

His eyes searched the room for signs of trouble but didn't find any, which only added to his confusion. I could feel the dread from my confession building steadily and urging me forward. I reached over to the nightstand and flicked our bedside lamp on, causing Dimitri to squint under the suddenly harsh light.

"I went to see Tasha." I answered his bluntly.

I figured ripping off the band aid was the best approach here. It usually was when it came to Dimitri.

It was easy to read the disapproval on his face when his warm brown eyes turned hard and angry. He opened his mouth to start yelling at me, but I quickly muffled him with my hand.

"Please, just hear me out." I pleaded with him, keeping one hand securely over his mouth. He paused from his mumblings for several seconds continuing to glare at me before eventually nodding his head in consent. I waited a few seconds longer to make sure he meant it before releasing him.

"I know how strongly you felt about me seeing her, but I had to. Letting her leave for Tarasov without ever saying my peace would have haunted me Dimitri. I had to see her."

My words were doing little to ease his anger but he continued to listen.

"If it makes you feel any better Mikhail and Christian were with me the whole time."

A small part of me felt pretty indignant about having to explain all of this. I was trained guardian, and every bit as skilled as him. I shouldn't have to defend myself and I certainly didn't need anyone else's protection.

However the logical part of me fought that argument hard and in the end I knew he had a right to be concerned. The past few months had been hell on the both of us.

"Look" I continued. "I know you're upset, but I also know that you understand this; my need for closure."

"And did you achieve that?" He asked me flatly.

It was always torture to have him angry with me and even worse when I felt he was disappointed.

"I got my closure and then some…" I told him. "Certainly more than I went in there bargaining for."

Something in my tone must have caught his attention because Dimitri's expression shifted from angry to inquisitive. When he raised one of his eyebrows questioningly, I saw that as my opening to continue.

He listened intently as I relayed our conversation and by the time that I was finished, he wore a look of equal concern.

"The security here has been completely compromised. There is far too much information floating around out there, not to mention the unidentified moles. Continuing to stay here is a serious gamble." I told him.

Nodding his head in silent agreement, Dimitri continued to pace the floor. His heavy brows were furrowed in concentration while he turned this new news over in his mind.

"I mean apart from taking this to Hans, I haven't got a clue what to do. I was hoping you might have a little insight for me; maybe some up with some bad ass plan." I smirked. "If not then were going to have to wing it because I want Lissa on a plane out of here tonight. We can't keep waiting around for another attack. We're sitting ducks here."

It took me by surprise when Dimitri suddenly stopped his pacing. Turning his body around so he could face me, I recognized a familiar look.

"I know that look!" I blurted out, springing lightly off the bed and walking over to him. "That's the look you get whenever you've come up with something; something big."

He was doing a pretty good job of keeping his expression neutral, but a small smile escaped his lips. Clearly he found my sudden exuberance amusing.

"Well?" I asked impatiently, practically bouncing up and down. "Don't leave me hanging Comrade; do we have a plan?"

His previous smile dimmed, followed by a grim expression.

I have an idea Roza, but it won't be easy."

Ugh... with us it never is…

* * *

><p><strong>Any predictions on what Dimitri's plan might be? I will tell you it will make for an interesting sequel... : )<strong>

**Also, I normally don't respond to people's negativity, but I feel like this needs to be said. For the incredibly rude guest reader who insisted I completely ruined the story by making Sebastian look like a freak, I'm sorry you feel that way. **

**I'm also sorry that you are narrow minded and have never had the pleasure of meeting someone in real life who has two different color eyes. I can assure you that you are missing out as my own child was born that way and it is breathtaking. **

**People like that are truly unique and to imply that I might as well have described him as having a deformity or a hunchback was offensive and ignorant on your part. If it bothers you that much, then feel free to quit reading, otherwise I'd appreciate you keep such inappropriate comments to yourself as I find them personally offensive.**

**To everyone else who enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

**Don't forget to do it again : )**


End file.
